NATURALISTS CABINET. 



Disposition Tenacious of existence. 



to feast upon them has always been attended 

 with disagreeable, or rather almost fatal conse- 

 quences. 



This is not the case with the different sorts 

 which are imported for the gratification of lux- 

 ury, and which are become the favorite food of 

 those who are fond of eating a great deal with- 

 out the danger of surfeiting. They were first 

 introduced into England for this purpose about 

 eighty years ago; and they are imported princi- 

 pally, if not entirely, from the West Indies. 



However clumsy and awkward these animals 

 may appear in their manners, they are, for the 

 most part, extremely gentle and peaceable ; and 

 few, except the loggerhead and fierce turtles, 

 make any resistance when taken. No animals 

 whatever are more tenacious of life ; even if their 

 head be cut off, and their chest opened, they 

 will continue to live for several days. They pass 

 the cold season in a torpid state. 



Four species of turtle have been mentioned as 

 caught in the South Sea and Indian ocean, 

 viz. the green turtle, the loggerhead turtle, the 

 hawksbill, and the trunk turtle. 



The green turtle is found in great quantities 

 on the coasts of all the islands and continents in 

 the torrid zone, both in the old and new worlds, 

 where they feed on algae and other marine plants. 

 As they find a constant abundance of food on 

 the coasts which they frequent, they have no 

 occasion to quarrel with animals of their own 



