The Turtle Pair 1 15 



seas, and is extended or contracted according to the 

 season. 



And, finally, els a close to this brief introduction, 

 it may truly be said that of all the higher, warm-blooded 

 organisms, there are none so tenacious of life as the 

 Turtle. Injuries that would be instantly fatal to fish 

 ever leave the Turtle apparently undisturbed, his 

 power of keeping death at bay being nothing short of 

 marvellous. Also, it is a matter for very great wonder 

 how closely he is alHed to the tortoises of the land, 

 leading lives totally different to his, yet in all but a 

 few minor details precisely the same in structure. 



However, we must leave generalities and come to 

 particular instances. There are two varieties of Turtle 

 which furnish us with our most interesting examples, 

 and it is with one of these that I wish now to deal, the 

 Spharga coriacea, a common ocean Turtle frequenting 

 the North Atlantic and Pacific, even as far north 

 occasionally as the coast of Britain, and attaining a 

 weight of one thousand pounds. A pair of them lay 

 basking in the blazing sunshine of the northern tropic, 

 nearly midway between Africa and America. Their 

 broad carapaces shone in the sun's glare like burnished 

 gold, and occasionally they lifted their heads out of 

 the sea and gazed around as if in search of something. 

 But the fact is that they were ill at ease. 



The female felt the need laid upon her of making for 

 a familiar spot she knew of to ease herself of that load 

 of eggs she carried, and the male, while hating to part 

 with her, felt an almost equally strong desire to remain 

 where he was. Such food as he needed was abundant, 

 passing ships were few, and they were the only things 

 he felt any fear of, so with the usual selfishness of the 

 male he found a grievance in that his partner must 

 leave him. Their communication of ideas and views 



