300 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



enable them to swim swiftly in the sea, but render tliem almost helpless on the 

 land, where if turned on their back, they cannot regain their normal position. 

 They deposit their eggs in the sand in nests which they scoop out to a depth of two 

 feet or more. The most abundant species about Hawaii is the green turtle.-" 

 It has a strong bill and the center of the back is made up of thirteen plates 

 arranged in three rows, which lie perfectly smooth and never overlap, as they 

 do on the rarer hawksbill turtle -" or e-a, which furnishes the tortoise-shell of 

 commerce. As its name suggests, this latter species always has a hooked bill. It 

 also lias thirteen plates over the back which overlap like shingles on a roof, 

 until it is nearly grown, when they assume the arrangement occurring on the 

 related species. ''' 



(lAi.APAGos Land-Tortoise. 



A specimen of one of the many species of Galapagos laud-tortoise -■'' is 

 also to be seen in Hawaii. It belongs to the former Queen Liliuokalani, and 

 was brought to the islands by Capt. John Meek between 1812 and 1825. It is 

 reported that at his place on King street he kept "many land-ti;rtles" wliich 

 were broiight home by him on numerous trips to IMexico. When tliey were 

 finally disjiosed of the specimen now in jxissession of her Ma.icsty was given to 

 King Kamehameha III. It eventually passed into the hands of Kapiolani, and 

 after her death was still held in the royal family. It was a large animal when 

 brought to these islands almost one hundred years ago, and without doubt was 

 very old at that time. 



A second specimen-'-' was kept for a number of years on Nuuanu street 

 in Jlrs. JIary E. Foster's wonderful garden of tr(ii)ical plants. In their native 

 home in the Galapagos Islands, the tortoise feed on cacti and coarse grass, but in 

 captivity they feed on kitchen refuse. While they are dull creatures they are 

 nevertheless ob.iects of great interest and curiosity. 



Porpoise and Dolphin. 



At least two and probalily more species of porjtoise^" occur in the waters 

 about Hawaii. The commoner species '^^ is dark gray in color over the back, 

 and is white beneath, varied with small gray spots, and is about six feet in 

 lengtli. The teeth on both jaws are numeroiis, being about forty in number. 

 The porpoises belong to the great order of aquatic mammals •with fish-like 

 bodies '■^~, which include the true whales and the dolphins, and are known as 

 naia by the Hawaiians. In this order there are no posterior appendages. The 

 anterior appendages act as paddles and are without .joints. The tail is hori- 

 zontally expanded to form a powerful propeller. 



The porpoises associate in herds or selionls, and their s]>ortive g;imbols are 

 familiar to almost everyone who has made a sea voyage in the Pacific. As 

 they dive and spoi't iindcT tlii' Viow of a sldw-ninving vessel they present a 

 sight long to be remembered. At one moment will be seen the I'oll of the 



