S E A t O R T O I S E S, &c. 145 



There are feveral kinds ; among them, one whofe rail has a hooked 

 kind of nail, refembling the Iting of a fcorpion, which has given him his 

 name. 



Among the moft remarkable is the Joft-J!y?lled tortoife j much the 

 largeft of thofe inhabiting frelh water. Inhabits Carolina; the upper 

 fhell brown, the middle of it hard, ftrong, and bony; but the fides, 

 efpecially the hind part, cartilaginous, foft, pliant like tanned leather, 

 eafily yielding to any forEti, yet thick and iliong enough to protect the 

 wearer : litde rifmgs fcattered over the Ihell. The under fhell is pro- 

 J€(fted, in front, two or three inches b-fore the upper, fo that the 

 animal might lay his head on it ; foft and pliant here, but hard and 

 bony behind. Head fmallj z. ni5fitating memhrar.s to the eye ; the no- 

 ftrils placed in a kind of projecling fnout, fofc, tendi^r, and fomewhat 

 tranfparent. The feet ftrong and thick; five toes before ; the three firft 

 ftrong, fliort, and having hooked nails : beyond the fifth, two falfe toes, 

 ferving to extend a large .membrane, which unites them all. The fame 

 conformation in the hind feet, but only one faife toe. This creature 

 is ftrong, wild, and, when attacked, rifes on its hind-feet, and throws it- 

 ielf furioufly on its enemy, biting violently. Is good eating. 



SEA TORTOISES, or TURTLE. 



OF all animals of the kind, the green turtle is the moft: noted, 

 and the moft valuable. The delicacy, the falubrity, the nu- 

 tritive qualities of its flefti, and its eafy digeftion, were long known to 

 our feamen, and to the inhabitants of the coafts where they are native. 

 And this aliment is the more acceptable, as being found beneath the 

 burning zone. Dampier, that rough feaman, who has added more to 

 natural hiftory than half the philofophers before him, appears to be the 

 firft who informed us of their diftindtions ; and that the green turtle was 

 chiefly prized for its flefti. 



This animal is called green, from the colour of its ftiell, and in fomc 

 the flelh. It is generally fix or feven feet long, three or four broad, 

 three or four thick in the middle, weighing two or three hundred weight; 

 though fome are from five to eight hundred, and others not above fifty. 

 Do not acquire their entire dimenfions under twenty years. Its upper 

 fliell is oval, furrounded by a border of feparate pieces j the largeft fur- 

 theft from the head ; roundifti in part. The middle of the Ihcll is com- 



B b 2 pofcd 



