62 A NATURE WOOING. 



often used to bail out boats. Hogs and poultry relish 

 them much as food and many are speared for that 

 purpose. 



One which I turned over on its back succeeded in 

 righting itself after about a quarter of an hour's ef- 

 fort. It did this by bending back the front portion 

 of the shield as far as possible ; then turning one edge 

 against the sand and using the tail as a lever, it 

 finally, after many efforts, went over with a flop. 

 This is contrary to the statement of that eminent nat- 

 uralist, Thomas Say, who wrote of them as follows: 

 "When cast ashore by the waves, if they fall on the 

 back, they can not recover their proper position. 

 Many people feed their hogs upon them, and it is said 

 that some hogs that roam at large in the districts 

 where they abound, become acquainted with the fact 

 of their inability to turn themselves when placed on 

 the back, and when there happens to be a scarcity, 

 with a provident sagacity, they turn as many as they 

 can eat, or as are within their view, before they pro- 

 ceed to satisfy their hunger. This fact with respect 

 to one hog was related to me on good authority."* 



Several examples of the brown pelican, Pelccanus 

 fuscus Linn., were noted flying along the shore and 

 wading in the shallow pools. They appear to be a 

 dusky gray rather than a brown in color, and are 

 smaller than the white pelican, P. erytlirorlujnclios 

 Gmel., which ranges north as far as the Great Lakes. 



* Jourp. Phil. Acad. Nat. Sciences, 1, 1818, p. 435. 



