papular SKrtianarn of fbtfmxtflf fixture. 695 



when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a 

 long distance. Hence broad and well-beaten 

 paths radiate off in every direction from the 

 wells even down to the sea-coast ; and the 

 Spaniards, by following them up, first dis- 

 covered the watering-places. When I landed 

 at Chatham Island, I could not imagine 

 what animal travelled so methodically along 

 the well-chosen tracks. Near the springs it 

 was a curious spectacle to behold many of 

 these great monsters ; one set eagerly tra- 

 velling onward with outstretched necks, and 

 another set returning, after having drunk 

 their fill. When the Tortoise arrives at the 

 spring, quite regardless of any spectator, it 

 buries its head in the water above its eyes, 

 and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, at 

 the rate of about ten in a minute. The in- 

 habitants say each animal stays three or 

 four days in the neighbourhood of the water, 

 and then returns to the lower country ; but 

 they differed in their accounts respecting the 

 frequency of these visits. The animal pro- 

 bably regulates them according to the nature 

 of the food which it has consumed. It is, 

 however, certain, that Tortoises can subsist 

 even on those islands where there is no other 

 water than what falls during a few rainy 

 dnys in the year. I believe it is well ascer- 

 tained, that the bladder of the Frog acts as a 

 reservoir for the moisture necessary to its 

 existence : such seems to be the case with 

 tlie Tortoise. For some time after a visit to 

 the springs, the urinary bladder of these 

 animals is distended with fluid, which is 

 said gradually to decrease in volume, and to 

 become less pure. The inhabitants, when 

 walking in the lower district, and overcome 

 with thirst, often take advantage of this cir- 

 cumstance, by killing a Tortoise, and if the 

 bladder is full, drinking its contents. In 

 one I saw killed, the fluid was quite limpid, 

 and had only a vtry slightly hitter taste. 

 The inhabitants, however, always drink first 

 the water in the pericardium, which is de- 

 scribed as being best. The Tortoises, when 

 moving towards any definite point, travel by 

 night and day, and arrive at their journey s 

 end much sooner than would be expected. 

 The inhabitants, from observations on 

 marked individuals, consider that they can 

 move a distance of about eight miles in two 

 or three days. One large Tortoise, which I 

 watched, I found walked at the rate of sixty 

 yards in ten minutes, that is, three hundred 

 and sixty in the hour, or four miles a day, 

 allowing also a little time for it to eat on the 

 road. The flesh of this animal is largely 

 employed, both fresh and salted ; and a 

 beautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. 

 When a Tortoise is caught, the man makes 

 a slit in the skiu near its tail, so as to see 

 inside its body, whether the fat under the 

 dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the animal 

 is liberated ; and it is said to recover soon 

 from this strange operation. In order to 

 secure the Tortoises, it is not sufficient to 

 turn them like Turtle, for they are often 

 able to regain their upright position. [See 

 TURTLE.] 



TORTOISE-SHELL [BUTTERFLY]. 

 A name given by insect collectors to differ- 



ent Butterflies, of the species Vanessa poly- 

 chloros and V. urtictK, 



AfamilyofHeteroccrous 

 Lepidoptera, comprising an extensive group 

 of minute, generally dull-coloured moths, 

 distinguished by their broad entire fore 

 wings, which form a triangle with the body 

 when at rest. The labial palpi are broad 

 and very compressed ; the spiral tongue is 

 generally short j the thorax rarely crested ; 



AMU CHRYSALIS. 

 (TORTRIX POMOHANA.) 



and the antenna simple. The wings In 

 some species are ornamented with small 

 tufts of scales. The larva; are naked fleshy 

 grubs, which, for the most part, take up 

 their abode in a leaf, curled up by the in- 

 sect itself, and fastened with silken threads, 

 forming a cylindrical tube, open at each 

 end, which thus serves them for abode and 

 food ; others frequent the young buds and 

 shoots of various plants, fastening several of 

 the leaves together so firmly as to impede 

 its growth ; others, again, find their home 

 in the pulpy substance of various fruits, 

 particularly the apple and plum. Another 

 insect of this family ( Carcocnpsa Pomonella), 

 the Codling Moth, is one of the most destruc- 

 tive enemies to the apple crops in this country, 

 laying its eggs in theeyes of the newly-formed 

 fruit, within which the larva feeds, its pre- 

 sence being only indicated by the premature 

 falling of the fruit. Another species (Tor- 

 trix vifiJand) feeds upon the oak, which, in 

 certain years, it totally strips of its foliage, 

 its numbers being so great, that when the 

 branches of that tree are sharply beaten, a 

 complete shower of these moths is dislodged. 

 But there is no species of the family so truly 

 injurious as the Tortrix vitana, a species 

 which, in the larva state, attacks the leaves 

 of the vines in France, rolling them up, and 

 fastening them together with threads. 



TOTANUS. Cuvier's name for a genus 

 of Wading birds, comprehending many spe- 

 cies, which, under different names, arc found 

 in nearly all parts of the world. They are 

 characterized by a slender, round, pointed, 

 and solid beak, the nasal groove of which 



