LAND-TORTOISES. 61 



April, but in Sicily as early as February. Although its main food consists of 



plants and fruits, it will likewise consume such snail's, worms, and insects as it 



may meet with during its wanderings. In captivity, where they have been known 



to live for a great number of years, these tortoises display great partiality for 



milky plants, such as lettuce; and they are always fond of a bath. At the 



approach of rain they always hide themselves, but in fine weather remain abroad 



throughout the day. In excavating a burrow for the winter's sleep, the earth is 



dug up by the strong fore-limbs, and thrown out from the hole by the hinder pair. 



The pairing-season commences immediately after the awakening from the winter 



sleep ; and in May or June the female lays from eight to fifteen hard-shelled white 



eggs, of about the size of a hazel-nut. These are deposited in a hole in the earth 



in some sunny spot, and after being carefully covered up, are left to hatch. By 



September the young tortoises are about the size of half a walnut-shell, and 



present an exceedingly comic appearance. 



There are certain other species belonging to the same group as 

 Other Species. _, , r ° ° o tr 



the Grecian tortoise, which demand a brief notice. Among these is 



the handsome elongated tortoise (T. elongata), from Bengal, Burma, Cambodia, and 



Cochin China, taking its name from the great length of the depressed shell of the 



males ; the females being much smaller, with a relatively shorter and wider shell. 



These tortoises differ from the European species by the anal shields of the plastron 



having a very short line of union in the middle, even if they meet at all. The 



ground-colour of the shell is greenish yellow, upon which is an irregular black 



patch in each shield, which may occupy nearly the whole area of such shields, 



leaving merely a narrow yellow margin, or may be much broken up and indistinct. 



The male attains a length of between 10 and 11 inches. Forsten's tortoise (T. 



forsteni), from Celebes and Gilolo, may be distinguished by the want of a nuchal 



shield in the front of the carapace. Lastly, we have Horsfield's tortoise (T. 



horsfieldi), which, while allied to the European species, differs in having but four 



claws on the fore, as well as on the hind-feet. This tortoise inhabits the deserts, 



oases, and even mountains of Central Asia, where it ranges from the Aralo-Caspian 



region and the Kirghiz Steppes to Afghanistan. The shell, which is considerably 



depressed and not much longer than broad, has a brown or olive ground-colour 



above, which may be either uniform or blotched with black ; while beneath, it has 



large patches of black, which sometimes almost cover the whole surface. 



Writing of the elongated tortoise, Dr. J. Anderson says that it is active in its 



habits, and that the male is very confiding, eating readily from the hand, although 



the female, when touched, at once withdraws within the shell. Captive specimens 



were observed to be very restless at night ; they feed freely on plantains, but a 



female on occasion ate some dead prawns and fish, which had been procured to feed 



some soft-tortoises. Horsfield's tortoise, although equally fond of immersing its 



lower shell in water, is said to be more brisk in hot weather than are the European 



species ; it is purely diurnal in its habits, not venturing forth till after sunrise, and 



retiring to rest before sunset. Its food in the wild state is stated to be entirely of 



a vegetable nature ; snails and worms being never eaten. 



Anguiated The angulated tortoise (T. angulata), of South Africa, together 



Tortoise. with an allied species {T. yniphora) from an island near the Comoros, 



