ORDER CHELONIA. 59 



tries which it inhabits, without being determined to this torpor 

 merely by the severity of cold. The males are sometimes 

 seen to trot about, and make little bounds upon the earth ; 

 but it is hard to say, whether this manifestation of vivacity is 

 the result of anger or of love. When many males are assem- 

 bled together in one place, they attack each other pertina- 

 ciously, butting with the head and biting. 



This tortoise prefers for its habitual haunts, woods, and 

 elevated lands. It feeds equally on the roots of plants, on 

 fruits, on insects, and on worms. It breaks the shells of 

 snails with facility, and swallows the animal. It does not 

 touch fish, as it never goes into the water. Its character and 

 habits are gentle, and it is easily domesticated. In gardens 

 it is very useful, as it destroys a considerable quantity of 

 insects and moUusca, which are pernicious, and never does 

 any harm. If it experience hunger for many days, it may be 

 given bran moistened with a little milk. There is no risk, 

 however, in allowing it to fast even for months, especially 

 when a part of the autumn is gone by, for it is then so replete 

 with fat, that a fast and torpor of four or five months are 

 absolutely necessary to its preservation. The tortoise of 

 Blasius, which we mentioned before, and which lived ten 

 months without eating, died in consequence of the rigour of 

 the cold. On being opened, blackish, green, and yellow 

 excrements were found in its intestines. 



If the Zolhafa of Forskaiil, belong to this species, as M. 

 Daudin believes that it does, the German writer must be 

 erroneous in saying that it lays thirty or forty eggs. Cetti 

 tells us, on the contrary, that the common tortoise, in Sar- 

 dinia, lays, towards the end of June, only four or five eggs, 

 which are white, and about the size of those of a pigeon. 

 These eggs, deposited in a hole, and covered with sand, 

 disclose about the end of September, and the young which 

 then come forth are not larger than a walnut shell. 



