178 THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 
pable of aérating so great a quantity of blood as ours, as their cells 
are much larger, thus offering less surface to the action of the air ; 
and finally, the ribs of the turtles being immovable, they are in- 
capable of extending the lungs, so that the animal is absolutely 
obliged to swallow the necessary supply of air, and to pump it, as 
it were, into the lungs, by contracting the muscles of the throat. 
Thus we see that every precaution has been taken to reduce respi- 
ration to a low standard, and prevent the evolution of heat. With 
this indolence of its cold-blooded circulation, the whole nature 
of the animal is in harmony; the bluntness of its senses, its want 
of intelligence, its slow movements, and its long endurance of 
hunger, thirst, and want of air. It leads but a drowsy dream- 
like existence, and yet, we may be sure, it is far from unhappy, 
for all its functions and organs agree perfectly one with the other, 
and when concord reigns, enjoyment of some kind must exist. 
The turtles are distinguished from the land tortoises particu- 
larly by their large and long fin-shaped feet, and also by a 
longer tail, which serves them as a rudder. They have no teeth, 
but the horny upper jaw closes over the lower like the lid of a 
box, thus serving them as excellent shears, either for crushing 
shells or dividing the tough fibres of the sea-grass. 
They are at home in all the warmer seas, but sometimes they 
are carried by oceanic streams far away from their accustomed 
haunts. Thus, in the year 1752, 
a Green turtle, six feet long, and 
weighing 900 pounds, stranded near 
Dieppe; and in ]778 another, seven 
feet long,on the coast of Languedoc. 
One taken on the coast of Cornwall 
in July, 1756, measured from the 
tip of the nose to the end of the shell, six feet nine inches, and 
the weight was supposed to be nearly 800 pounds. These few 
examples show us that the turtles rank among the larger inha- 
bitants of the ocean, although they are far from attaining the 
fabulous proportions assigned to them by Pliny (who makes the 
Indians use their shells as boats or roofs), or the enormous size 
of some colossal extinct species, such as the fossil tortoise from 
the Siwala hills, preserved in the East Indian Museum, which 
measures twelve feet in length. They live almost constantly at 
sea, partly on shell-fish, like the fierce Loggerhead turtle 
Green Turtle. 
