240 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Peoc. 4th Ser. 



difficult to recognize the site of a nest, the very slight elevation 

 in the trail, or slightly fresher-looking earth being our sole 

 guide. Several times we imagined that we had discovered 

 nests, and prodded about with our sticks and dug with our 

 hands, until finally we realized that we had misinterpreted the 

 signs. 



"On finding our first nests in the trail, the old adage, 'Don't 

 put all your eggs into one basket,' was forcibly brought to 

 mind. This is the rule that is followed by the tortoise, for 

 within a radius of 15 feet four nests were found, each contain- 

 ing 8 to 17 eggs. The holes were about 15 inches in depth, 

 and nearly a foot in diameter. The eggs were placed in layers 

 of 3 to 6, the first layer being on the soft soil on the bottom, 

 separated from the next by an inch or so of dirt, and the sec- 

 ond layer separated from the third in the same manner. The 

 dirt surrounding the eggs was loose, but the top of the hole 

 was covered to a depth of 3 or 4 inches with a very hard crust 

 that had probably been formed by the tortoise lying on it and 

 working from side to side in the same manner that we fre- 

 quently noticed them working down a form to lie in. 



"Judging by the size and number of the eggs found in sev- 

 eral of the tortoises that we dissected, it would seem that one 

 or two nests are finished at a given period, and a week or two 

 later the remainder of the eggs are laid. From 10 to 20 eggs 

 were ready for extrusion together, while 20 or 30 more were 

 from one-half to two-thirds the normal size. 



"At the rate of destruction now in progress it will require 

 but a few years to clear this entire mountain of tortoises ; and 

 when we see the methods pursued by the proprietor in getting 

 tortoise oil for shipment to the mainland, we know that the 

 large tortoises can last but a few months after the work of the 

 oil-hunter begins in earnest. 



"To show what has already been done by oil-hunters, I took 

 two photographs at the water-hole, where lay the largest num- 

 ber of tortoise skeletons. There were about 150 skeletons at 

 this pool, and a half mile away, in another depression, were 

 about 100 more. While there were more skeletons at these 

 two places than we saw elsewhere, frequently 10 or 15 were 

 observed in other basins where the tortoises had gone for 

 water. 



