138 THE STORY OF REPTILE LIFE. 



ing it from the bladder and the peculiar anal 

 water sacs to which we have already referred. 

 Then it stiffens the tail and bores it a hole 

 with it, enlarging this by the aid of the hind 

 feet till it is about five inches deep. The eggs 

 are then laid at the bottom and distributed by 

 the feet. Then the soil is put in again and 

 beaten down flat, and the spot concealed by 

 scratching the surface a little with the claws. 

 This done, no further interest in the nest is 

 displayed. 



The eggs of some species of tortoises, by the 

 way, are highly esteemed as food, or eagerly 

 sought for on account of the oil they yield. 

 The vast quantities that are destroyed by man 

 every year for this purpose is almost incredible. 

 The naturalist Bates, describing the scenes which 

 took place on the breeding ground of the " Arran- 

 Turtle" (Podocnemis expansa) of Tropical South 

 America some fifty years ago, gives us an idea 

 of the magnitude of this destruction. "The 

 turtles," he says, "lay their eggs by night, 

 leaving the water ... in vast crowds, and 

 crawling to the central and highest part of the 

 praia." They " excavate with their broad webbed 

 paws deep holes in the fine sand : the first comer, 

 in each case, making a pit about three feet deep, 

 laying its eggs (about one hundred and twenty 

 in number), and covering them with sand; the 

 next making its deposit at the top of its pre- 

 decessor, and so on until every pit is full. The 

 laying season over, which lasts about fifteen days, 

 the natives commence the work of collecting the 

 eggs. This is done in a very methodical manner. 



