THE COMMON TORTOISE. 



251 



or lucerne, and they remained out and quiet during the night, as if enjoying the cool air. They 

 were fond of plunging into water, where they would remain for half an hour, and they drank 

 large quantities by thrusting their heads in and swallowing it by draughts. During the rainy 

 season they were much more lively, and wandered about, and when the laying season commenced, 

 in November, the female moistened some earth at the selected spot, made mud of it, and then 

 scraped it away until a pit was formed. In two hours one had made a hole six inches deep and 

 four inches in diameter, and in this she deposited her eggs, four in number. She filled up the hole, 

 and beat down the mud with the whole weight of her body. They did not burrow when they became 

 quiet in the cold season, but were listless, though not torpid. 



The males butt against each other and make much noise, and strive against their adversaries in 

 trials of strength. Sometimes they tilted each other over, and there was great difficulty in getting on 

 the legs again. The next Tortoise is the Afghan Tortoise,* which has four claws in front ; and the 

 last, the Burmese Tortoise,! with a long shell and five claws in front, is met with in Camboja, 

 Arakan, and Mergui. 



A Tortoise, which is imported into England and sold in considerable numbers, and which is mads 



COMMON* OR GREEK TORTOISE. 



a domestic pet, is found in most of the countries bordering on the central and eastern part of the 

 Mediterranean Sea, Greece, Turkey, Asia Minor, Palestine, and Dalinatia. This kind is also 

 found as far north as the Danube, Italy, and the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, and it is said 

 also to live in the Balearic Islands, the South of France, Switzerland, and even farther north. 

 But it is difficult to decide its correct natural limit, for this Testudo grcvca, or Grecian Tortoise, 

 has long been an object of interest and commerce, and may have been introduced into countries 

 beyond its natural position. 



Like all the members of the genus Testudo, which is the most important one of the family, 

 this familiar creature has a buckler on top and underneath, which are commonly called the shell, and 

 they are united and solid, having openings in front and behind for the neck, arms, legs, and tail. It 

 is a slow-moving creature, and it withdraws its head and limbs within its buckler on any great alarm, 

 and remains passive and safe until the danger is past. It travels at night as well as by day, and 

 those people who keep one in their garden will generally find that their succulent and nicest 

 vegetables are attractive to it. This Tortoise recognises its kind feeder ; but it certainly will try and 

 get out of the way of children, who place it often on its back, and enjoy its curious struggles to 

 return to the proper position. The pet Tortoise disappears in the late autumn, and reappears in the 

 spring, having buried or hidden itself under garden refuse, and having enjoyed a quiet winter's sleep j 

 and they live for many years. They dislike the wet, and evidently seek the shade when the sun is 

 very hot. 



* Tfs'.udo hortfeldii (Gray). f Testudo elongata (Blyth). 



