300 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



enal)le them td swim swiflly in the se;i. but render them almost helpk'ss on the 

 laud, where if turued on tlieir baek, they caunot regain their normal position. 

 They deposit their eggs in the sand in nests which they scoop out to a depth of two 

 feet or more. The most abundant species about Hawaii is the green turtle.-'^ 

 It has a strong hill and the center of the baek is made up of thirteen plates 

 arranged in three rows, which lie perfectly smooth and never overlap, as they 

 do on tlu' rarer hawkshill turtle-' or e-a, which furnishes the tortoise-shell of 

 commerce. As its name suggests, this latter species always has a hooked bill. It 

 also has thirtc^Mi plates over the back which overlap like shingles on a roof, 

 until it is nearly grown, when they assume the arrangement occurring on the 

 related species. 



Galapagos Land-Tortoise. 



A specimen of one of the many si)ecies of Galapagos land-tortoise -'* is 

 also to be seen in Hawaii. It belongs to the former Queen Liliuokalani, and 

 was brought to the islands by Capt. eJohn ]\Ieek between 1812 and 1825. It is 

 reported that at his place on King street he kept "many land-turtles" which 

 were brought home by him on ninnerous trips to Mexico. When they were 

 finally disposed of the specimen now in possession of her ]\Iajesty was given to 

 King Kamehameha III. It eventually passed into the hands of Kapiolani, and 

 after her death was still held in the royal family. It was a large animal when 

 brought to these islands almost one hundred years ago, and without doubt was 

 very old at that time. 



A second specimen -'■' was kept for a number of years on Xuiuinu street 

 in Mrs. ]\Iary E. Foster's wonderful garden of tropical plants. In their native 

 home in the Galapagos Islands, the tortoise feed on cacti and coarse grass, but in 

 captivity they feed on kitchen refuse. While they are dull creatures they are 

 nevertheless objects of great interest and curiosity. 



Porpoise and Dolphin. 



At least tAvo and probably more species of porpoise^'' occur in the waters 

 about Hawaii. The commoner species -^^ is dark gray in color over the back, 

 and is white beneath, varied with small gray spots, and is about six feet in 

 length. The teeth on both jaws are numerous, being about forty in number. 

 The porpoises belong to the great order of aquatic mammals with fish-like 

 bodies^-, which include the true whales and the dolphins, and are known as 

 naia by the Hawaiians. In this order there are no posterior appendages. The 

 anterior appendages act as paddles and are without joints. The tail is hori- 

 zontally expanded to foi-m a i)owerful ])ropeller. 



The ])orpoises associate in herds or schools, and tlieir sportive gambols are 

 familiar to almost everyone who has made a sea voyage in the Pacific. As 

 they dive and sport under the liow of a slow-moving vessel they present a 

 sia'ht long to be i-ememhered. At one moment will be seen the roll of the 



-<^ CheUme nnjdas. -' Cli,-loiii> inibrirata. -" Test udo sp. -"Died 1908. so Pro(h'JpliiiiiiK. 



^' Proddpliinux iilti'iiiidtii.s. ^'- Cetncea. 



