12 THE SNAKE TORTOISE. 



he says, without seeming to have received the 

 slightest injury, save from the closing of its eyes, 

 which it never afterwards opened. In a short time 

 the hole was observed to close, and in about three 

 days a complete skin covered the wound : in this 

 manner the animal lived, without the brain, for six 

 months, walking about, and still moving its limbs 

 as it did previously to the operation*. 



The males of this species are said to fight very 

 often. This is done by butting at each other, and 

 with such force that the blows may be heard at a 

 considerable distance f. 



In Greece these Tortoises form an article of 

 food. The inhabitants also swallow the blood 

 without any culinary preparation, and are very par- 

 tial to the eggs, when made palatable by boiling. 

 In the gardens of some parts of Italy, there are 

 formed for the purpose wells, in which the inhabi- 

 tants burv the e£gs of the Tortoise. These remain 

 till the ensuing spring, when, by the natural warmth 

 of the climate, they are hatched, and the young 

 ones come forth. The Tortoises are kept in banks 

 of earth J. 



THE SNAKE TORTOISE§. 



This animal inhabits the stagnant waters of North 



* La Cepede, i. 189. + Shaw's Gen. Zool. iii. 9. 



X Skippon's Travels, Churchill's Coll. vi. 501. 



§ Synonyms. — Testudo serpentina. Linn. Serrated Tortoise. 

 Penn. Snapping Tortoise, in some parts of America, Snake Tor- 

 toise. Sbanv .———Sba'w^s Gen. Zool. to!. 3. tab. 19. 



