CRUSTACEOUS FISHES. 



671 



war in another respect, for it seems almost 

 endued with immortality. Nothing can kill 

 it ; the depriving it of one of its members, is 

 but a slight injury ; it will live, though de- 

 prived of the brain ; it will live, though de- 

 prived of its head. Rhcdi informs us, that in 

 making some experiments upon vital motion, 

 he, in the beginning of the monih of Novem- 

 ber, took a land-tortoise, made a large opening 

 in its skull, and drew out all the brain, wash- 

 ed the cavity, so as not to leave the smallest 

 part remaining, and then, leaving the hole 

 open, set the animal at liberly. Notwith- 

 standing this, the tortoise marched away with- 

 out seeming to have received the smallest in- 

 jury ; only it shut the eyes, and never opened 

 them afterwards. Soon after the hole in the 

 skull was seen to close; and, in three days, 

 there was a complete skin covering the wound. 

 In this manner the animal lived without a 

 brain, for six months; walking about uncon- 

 cernedly, and moving its limbs as before. 

 But the Italian philosopher, not satisfied with 

 this experiment, carried it still farther; for he 

 cut off the head, and the animal lived twenty- 

 three days after its separation from the body. 

 The head also continued to rattle the jaws, 

 like a pair of castanets," for above a qnorter of 

 an hour. 



Nor are these animals less long-lived than 

 difficult in destroying. Tortoises are com- 

 monly known to exceed eighty years old ; 

 and there was one kept in the Archbishop of 

 Canterbury's garden, at Lambeth, that was 

 remembered above a hundred and twenty. 

 It was at last killed by the severity of a frost, 

 from which it had not sufficiently defended 

 itself in its winter retreat, which was a heap 

 of sand, at the bottom of the garden. 



The usual food of the land-tortoise seems 

 not so nourishing as to supply this extraordi- 

 nary principle of vitality. It lives upon vege- 

 tables in its retreats in the mountains or the 

 plain ; and seldom makes its prey of snails or 

 worms, but when other food is not found in 

 grateful plenty. It is fond also of fruits; and 

 when the forest affords them, is generally 

 found not far from where they grow. As it 

 can move but slowly, it is not very delicate in 

 the choice of its food ; so that it usually fills 

 itself with whatever offers. Those that are 

 kept in a domestic state, will eat any thing ; 

 leaves, fruits, corn, bran, or grass. 



From the smallness of its brain, and the 

 slowness of its motion, it obviously appears to 

 be a torpid, heavy animal, requiring rest and 

 sleep ; and, in fact, it retires to some cavern 

 to sleep for the winter. I already observed 

 that, iis blood circulated through the heart by 

 a short passage ; and that it did not, as ana- 

 tomists express it, go through the great circu- 

 lation. With us, and quadrupeds, the blood 

 goes from the veins to tlie heart ; from the 

 heart it is sent to be spread over the lungs : 

 from the lungs it returns to the" heart again ; 

 and from thence it goes to the arteries to be 

 distributed through the whole body. But its 

 passage in the tortoise is much shorter ; for, 

 from the veins it goes to the heart ; then leav- 

 ing the lungs entirely out of its course, it 

 takes a short cut, if I may so say, into the be- 

 ginning of the arteries, which send it round 

 the animal, frame. From hence we see the 

 lungs are left out of the circulation ; and, con- 

 sequently, the animal is capable of continuing 

 to live without continuing to breath. In this 

 it resembles the bat, the serpent, the mole, and 

 the lizard ; like them it takes up its dark resi- 

 dence for the winter ; and, at that time, when 

 its food is no longer in plenty, it happily be- 

 comes insensible to the want. Nor is it un- 

 mindful to prepare its retreat, and make it as 

 convenient as possible ; it is sometimes buried 

 two or three feet in the ground, with its hole 

 furnished with moss, grass, and other sub- 

 stances, as well to keep the retreat warm, as 

 to serve for food, in case it should prematurely 

 wake from its state of stupefaction. But it 

 must not be supposed that, while it is thus at 

 rest, it totally discontinues to breath ; on the 

 contrary, an animal of this kind, if put into a 

 close vessel, without air, will soon be stifled; 

 though not so readily as in a state of vigour 

 and activity'. 



From this dormant state the tortoise is 

 awakened by the genial return of spring; and 

 is thought not to be much wasted by its long 

 confinement. To animals that live an hun- 

 dred and fifty years, a sleep of six months is 

 but as the nap of a night. All the actions of 

 these long-lived qreatures seem formed upon 

 a scale answering the length of their existence; 

 their slumbers are for a season ; their motions 

 are slow, and require time in every action : 

 even the act of procreation, which among 

 other animals is performed in a. very few 



