TORTOISE. 151 



LETTER LI. 



TO THOMAS PEDANT, ESQ. 



SELBOENE, March 15, 1773. 



DEAR SIR, By iny journal for last autumn, it appears that 

 the house-martins bred very late, and staid very late in these 

 parts ; for on the 1st of October 1 saw young martins in 



its sojourn there. If I mistake not, its sustenance and abode were provided 

 for in this document. Its shell was perforated, 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 peas, and even the leek ; while it positively rejected asparagus, parsley, 

 and spinage. In the early part of the season, its favourite pabulum was the 

 flowers of the dandelion (leontodon taraxacum), of which it would devour 

 twenty at a meal ; and lettuce (lactuca sativa) ; of the latter a good sized 

 one at a time ; but, if placed between lettuce and the flowers of the dandelion, 

 it would forsake the former for the latter. It was also partial to the pulp of 

 an orange, which it sucked greedily. 



" About the latter end of June (discerning the times and the seasons), it 

 looked out for fruit, when its former choice was forsaken. It ate currants, 

 raspberries, pears, apples, peaches, nectarines, &c., the riper the better ; but 

 would not taste cherries. Of fruits, however, the strawberry and gooseberry 

 were the most esteemed; it made great havoc among the strawberry borders, 

 and would take a pint of gooseberries at intervals. The gardener told me it 

 knew him well, the hand that generally fed it, and would watch him atten- 

 tively at the gooseberry bush, where it was sure to take its station while he 

 plucked the fruit. 



" I could not get it to take the root of the dandelion, nor indeed any root 

 I offered it, as that of the carrot, turnip, &c. All animal food was discarded, 

 nor would it take any liquid, at least, neither milk nor water ; and when a 

 leaf was moist, it would shake it, to expel the adhering wet. 



" This animal moved with apparent ease, though pressed by a weight of 

 18 stones; itself weighed 13^1bs. In cloudy weather, it would scoop out a 

 cavity, generally in a southern exposure, where it reposed, torpid and inactive, 

 until the genial influence of the sun roused it from its slumber. When in 

 this state, the eyes were closed and the head and neck a little contracted, 

 though not drawn within the shell. Its sense of smelling was so acute, that 

 it was roused from its lethargy if any person approached even at a distance of 

 twelve feet. 



" About the beginning of October, or the latter end of September, it began 

 to immure itself, and had, for that purpose, for many years selected an angle 



