124 STARVING TORTOISES. 



In the Japanese islands these creatures grow to 

 an enormous size. I possess a shell which is 

 highly polished and ornamented with gold lacquer 

 work ; the measurement of it is three feet one inch 

 by three feet four inches across, and, as these 

 animals live to an immense age, this specimen may 

 probably be several hundred years old. 



As each year appears to be marked by a ring 

 round each plate of the tortoise-shell, much as one 

 sees them in a section of tree stem, it might have 

 been possible to reckon the age of my huge shell, 

 but in polishing the surface the rings have been 

 effaced, so its age can only be conjectured. 



Let it not be forgotten that a tortoise is a 

 thirsty creature, and needs to have access to water 

 in some very shallow pan out of which it can 

 drink. My own specimen knows well the sound 

 of falling water, and goes beneath the hanging 

 baskets in the conservatory after the gardeners 

 have soaked them, and there enjoys the dripping 

 moisture, drinking from the pools upon the tiled 

 floor. 



The shell of a tortoise should be well oiled every 

 few weeks, as it is apt to grow too dry, and might 



