SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 167 
of the forest. Ofthese, two had been rifled, and the broken egg- 
shells were what first attracted our attention to them. All the 
eggs found on that date (November 12th) were perfectly fresh, 
and we saw two or three newly dug holes with tortoises but a 
few feet from them. Most of the nests found were in well-trav- 
eled cattle or tortoise trails. They were so placed that the sun 
shone on them but a few hours each day; when it did it was very 
hot. Ordinarily it was very difficult to recognize the site of a 
nest, the very slight elevation in the trail, or slightly fresher-look- 
ing earth being our sole guide. Several times we imagined that 
we had discovered nests, and prodded about with our sticks, and 
dug with our hands until finally we realized that we had mis- 
interpreted the signs. 
On finding our first nests in the trail the old adage, “Don’t 
put all your eggs into one basket,” was forcibly brought to 
mind. This is a rule that is followed by the tortoise, for within 
a radius of 15 feet four nests were found, each containing 8 to 
17 eggs. The holes were about 15 inches in depth, and nearly 
a foot in diameter. The eggs were placed in layers of 3 to 6, 
the first layer being on the soft soil on the bottom, separated 
from the next by an inch or so of dirt, and the second layer 
separated from the third in the same manner. The dirt surround- 
ing the eggs was loose, but the top of the hole was covered to 
a depth of 3 or 4 inches with a very hard crust that had prob- 
ably been formed by the tortoise lying on it and working from 
side to side in the same manner that we frequently noticed them 
working down a form to lie in. 
Judging by the size and number of the eggs found in several 
of the tortoises that we dissected, it would seem that one or two 
nests are finished at a given period, and a week or two later the 
remainder of the eggs are laid. From Io to 20 eggs were ready 
for extrusion together, while 20 gr 30 more were from one-half 
to two-thirds the normal size. A peculiar fact regarding the tor- 
toises that inhabit this mountain is the scarred appearance of the 
shells of those living near the top as compared with those living 
near the base, or, for the matter of that, any of the other species 
in the archipelago. The young tortoises near the top are very 
smooth, but with hardly an exception the old ones show irreg- 
ular spots on their shells that thus far have not been satisfactorily 
accounted for. It seems hardly possible that they could have 
been made by a shower of lava, and yet, within a mile of the 
spot where the old patriarchs of this species are found, there 
are a number of living volcanoes which might, a hundred years 
