120 STARVING TORTOISES. 



inducement for the householder to purchase his 

 stock. 



One day a tortoise was brought to me by a man 

 who said he had picked it up in one of my fields. 

 I felt sure it must have strayed from its rightful 

 owner, and we therefore made every inquiry 

 amongst our neighbours round about in order to 

 discover, if possible, its previous home. As no 

 one would own the tortoise, we placed it in the 

 conservatory that we might be able to observe its 

 ways and habits, as it happened to be the first 

 specimen of the kind that had been enrolled 

 amongst my pets. When placed on the lawn for 

 exercise the creature would greedily snap off every 

 hawkweed flower he came to, and as these 

 abounded in the turf he had happy times feasting 

 on flowers and basking in the sun. 



After keeping the tortoise about a year, it hap- 

 pened that a policeman living in a neighbouring 

 village called here to see a friend of his, and this 

 comrade (one of my gardeners) took him to see 

 the flowers in the conservatory. After a few 

 minutes the policeman exclaimed, " Why, there's 

 our Jack ! " An explanation ensued, and it turned 



