LECTURE Vir. 21 



curved than in the Loggerhead Turtle, is another 

 mark of distinction. The colour is a beautiful 

 variegation of blackish brown and yellow, vary- 

 ing greatly in different individuals. This species 

 is a native of the Asiatic seas, but is also foundj 

 though much more rarely, in the Atlantic, and 

 even in the Mediterranean. Its general length 

 is about three feet, but sometimes it is found 

 much larger. The Greeks and Romans appear 

 to have been highly partial to the use of Tortoise- 

 shell as an ornamental article, decorating their 

 doors, the pillars of their houses, and their beds 

 with it. The great consumption of it at Rome 

 may be guessed at by what Velleius Paterculus 

 has related, who tells us that when the city of 

 Alexandria was taken by Julius Caesar, the ma- 

 gazines or warehouses were so full of this article, 

 that he proposed to have made it the principal 

 ornament of his triumph, as he did of ivory 

 afterwards, during his triumph after the African 

 tvar. 



We now pass to the genus called Rana or Frog, 

 consisting of all the animals comprehended un- 

 der the general names of Frog and Toad. This 

 is a singularly curious race of animals, though 

 from prejudice often considered in an unfavourable 



