1GO TORTOISE. 



LETTER LI. 



TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. 



SELBORNE, March 15, 1773. 

 DEAR SIR, 



BY my journal for last autumn, it appears that 

 the house-martins bred very late, and staid very 

 late in these parts ; for, on the 1 st of October, I 



they continue perfectly healthy, and arrive at an almost incredi- 

 ble age. When kept in the stove or green-house, their torpidity 

 does not take place, although, at the annual period of its occur- 

 rence, they are generally noticed for a short time to be more rest- 

 less and irritable. The following are some remarkable instances 

 of longevity recorded by Mr. Murray, in his Experimental 

 Researches : In the Library of Lambeth Palace is the shell of 

 a land tortoise, brought there about the year 1623 ; it lived un- 

 til 1730, a period of 107 years. Another was placed in the gar- 

 den of the episcopal palace of Fulham, by Bishop Laud, in 1625, 

 and died in 1753 128 years : the age at which these were 

 placed in the gardens was, of course, unknown. Another is 

 mentioned 220 years, and one in Exeter 'Change 800 : the 

 latter, however, does not seem well authenticated, though there 

 can be no doubt of the period of their existence being very ex- 

 tensive. Mr. Murray has added some very interesting informa- 

 tion regarding the habits of a tortoise kept at Peterborough : 



" From a document belonging to the archives of the Cathe- 

 dral, called the Bishop's Barn, it is well ascertained that the tor- 

 toise at Peterborough must have been about 220 years old. 

 Bishop Marsh's predecessor in the see of Peterborough had re- 

 membered it above sixty years, and could recognize no visible 

 change. He was the seventh bishop who had worn the mitre 

 during its sojourn there. If I mistake not, its sustenance and 

 abode were provided for in this document. Its shell was perfo- 

 rated, in order to attach it to a tree, &c., to limit its ravages 

 among the strawberry borders. 



" The animal had its antipathies and predilections. It would 

 eat endive, green pease, and even the leek; while it positively 

 rejected asparagus, parsley, and spinage. In the early part of 



