6 



THE GOPHEIi TORTOISE. 



The brain of the Tortoise is very small in pi'oportion to the size of the animal, in the turtle 

 weighing not quite one five-thousandth part, of the whole body, and in the land Tortoise about 

 one two-thousandth part. In man the brain is about one-fortieth the weight of the body. 



The Tortoises produce their young from eggs, mostly soft and leathery in the texture of 

 their covering, which are laid in some convenient sjjot, and left to be hatched by heat not 

 derived from the parent. The circulation in the Tortoise is not very complete, but the arterial 

 blood is redder and brighter than the venous. 



In the true Tortoises the feet are club-shaped and the claws blunt, and the neck can be 

 wholly withdrawn within tlie shell. 



The first examjile of these creatures is the Gopher, or Mungofa Tortoise, a native of 

 America. This is a rather j^retty, though not briglitly colored species, its shell being mostly 



OOPHEK TORTOISE. - TestuOu gopher. 



brownish-yellow, boldly and variously clouded with rich dark brown. The lower jaw is yellow, 

 and the whole of the plastron is yellow-brown. It is found plentifully in Georgia and Ala- 

 bama, but, according to iMr. llolhrook, is not seen farther north than South Carolina. When 

 full grown it is a modnrately large species, from thirteen to more than fourteen inches in 

 lengtli, and very convex. The following interesting account of its habits is given by Mr. Hol- 

 brook in his valuable " Xorth American Herpetology : "— 



"They select dry and sandy jilaces, are generally found in troops, and are very abundant 

 in pine-barren countries. They are gentle in their habits, living entirely on vegetable sub- 

 stances. They are fond of the sweet potato {Convolvuhis batatas), and at times do much 

 injury to gardens by destro^nng melons, as well as bulbous roots, etc., etc. In the wild state 

 they are i-epresented as nocturnal animals, or as seeking their food Iw night : when domesti- 

 cated—and I have kept many of them for years — they may be seen grazing at all hours of 

 the day. 



" When first placed in confinement, they chose the lowest part of the garden, where they 

 could most easily burrow. This spot being once overflowed by salt water in a high spring-tide, 

 they migrated to the upper i)art, nearly eighty yards distant, and prepared anew their habita- 



