624 LAND TORTOISES IlSf THE SEYCHELLES. 



8. Owing to the difficulty in providing food for the increasing 

 herd in the enclosures at Government House, I have drafted off — 

 in March and May 1910 — 4 adult males and 18 adult females 

 and 27 young ones of the " recoltes " in 1903, 1904 and 1905 to 

 Long Island, a Crown property used as a quarantine station, 

 where they are placed under the charge of the Guardians and 

 where there is an ample supply of food. 



9. " Gordon " shows likes and dislikes and is rather combative, 

 having successfully bitten some visitors who presumed on his 

 apparent lethargy, bvit generally the land tortoise shows little 

 intelligence. 



10. There have been no deaths among the adults during six years 

 in the enclosures at Government House, but one male has been 

 killed by a fall at Long Island, where they have shown them- 

 selves to be capable of swimming. The remains of tortoises found 

 in the pits in the coral formation of islands in the Aldabi^a Group 

 points to the falling into pits as one of the principal causes of 

 death. They live apparently to an extreme old age — probably for 

 200 years. No plan will effectively prevent the final extinction of 

 these curious survivals in a wild state in their natural habitats. 

 The archives of Seychelles, Vol. i., published in 1909, are full of 

 references to their size and number in Mahe and Praslin, where 

 they were speedily destroyed by the early settlers. But their 

 future existence is guaranteed by the fact that they breed in 

 captivity and that several large herds besides that at Government 

 House are kept and well cared for. It is a guarantee for their 

 being taken care of that there is a sale for living specimens for 

 zoological collections. 



11. The best book in English on the subject is a monograph 

 entitled " Gigantic Land Tortoises" by Dr. Giinther, published for 

 the British Museum about 1878. The names of the best known 

 varieties of the larger tortoises and tiu^tles are as follows : — 

 Of Aldabra : Testudo elephantina. 

 Of Galapagos : Testudo nigra. 

 Of Greece : Testudo grcBca. 



Box Tortoise of Madagascar : Pyxis arachnoides. 

 Box Tortoise of North America : Cistudo Carolina (Brer 



tarapin). 

 Lettered Tortoise of North America : Emys sculpta. 

 Green Turtle : Chelone mydas. (The edible variety much 



consumed in Seychelles.) 

 Loggerhead Turtle : Thalassochelys caretta. (I do not know 



this species by sight.) 

 Hawksbill Turtle: Chelone imbi-icata. (The tortoise-shell 

 variety.) 



I have, etc., 



Tre Right Honoueable (Signed) W. E. Davidson, 



The Seceetaey of State finvprnnv 



FOE THE Colonies. ouveinui. 



