TOR 



*rORSIANO, a town of the Popedom ; lo miles N. of 

 Perugia. 



TORSKOG, a town of Sweden, in Weft Gothland; 

 53 miles N. of Uddevalla. 



TORSO, a fmall ifland on the E. fide of the gulf of 

 Bothnia. N. lat. 63° 37'. E. long. 22° 14'. 



TORSSA, a town of Sweden, in Helfingland, on a 

 river which runs into the gulf of Bothnia ; 6 miles W. of 

 Hudwickfwall. 



TORSUTATAK, a town of Eail Greenland. N. lat. 

 59^56'. E. long. 43° 15'. 



TORT, in Laiu, denotes injuftice, or injury, as de fan 

 tort nieme, in his own ivrong. Sec. 



Hence, alfo, tort-feafor, &c. The word is pure French, 

 where it fignifies the fame. 



Aftions upon torts, or wrongs, are all perfonal aftions 

 for trefpafles, nuifances, aflaults, defamatory words, and the 

 like. 



Tort, Executor de Jon. See ExECUTOR. 



TORTICOLLIS, from torqueo, to tivijl, and collum, 

 the neck ; the IVryneck ; which fee. 



TORTO, in Geography, a fmall river of Spain, which 

 runs into the Orbega, in the province of Leon.— Alfo, 

 a river of Sicily, which runs into the fea, 5 miles E. of 

 Termini. 

 •TORTOISE, in Zoology. See Testudo. 



Dr. Parfons has remarked a fingularity in the ftrudture 

 of the wind-pipe of the land-tortoife, wliich for a few inches 

 from the epiglottis is fingle, but foon divides into two ; and 

 as it defcends with the cefophagus, forms a folded ring out- 

 ward on each fide, and turns down again to enter the lungs ; 

 fo that this animal has the advantage of a double afpera ar- 

 teria, with a volution in each ; which fhews that tliis pro- 

 vition is intended to contain a greater portion of air than 

 ordinai'y, while he is under-ground in winter. It has been 

 obferved likewife, that the principal ufe of the lungs in 

 tortoifes is to render them fpecifically lighter or heavier in 

 the water, by their inflation and compreflion at pleafure, as 

 fifhes do by their fwimming bladders ; and fuch a power of 

 long infpiration feems to be as neceflary in the land-tortoife 

 as in that of the fea ; becaufe, in many countries where they 

 breed, they are known to go into the ground, and lie con- 

 cealed for feveral months, and feveral fpecies of land-tor- 

 toifes go into ponds or canals in gardens, where they are 

 kept, and remain long .under water. Phil. Tranf. vol. Ivi. 

 p. 213. 



ToRToiSE-5W/, the fhell, or rather fcales of the tef- 

 taceous animal, called a tortoife ; ufed in inlaying, and in 

 various other works, as for fnuff-boxes, combs, &c. Mr. 

 Catefby obferves, that the hard ftrong covering, which en- 

 clofes all forts of tortoifes, is very improperly called a fliell ; 

 being of a perfect bony contexture ; but covered on the 

 outfide with fcales, or rather plates, of an horny fubftance : 

 which are what the workmen call tortoife-fhell. Phil. 

 Tranf. N° 438, p. 117. 



It is the tejiudo imbrtcata of Linnaeus alone, which fur- 

 nifhes that beautiful (hell, fo much admired in Europe. See 

 Testudo Jmbrlcata. 



The lamellae or plates of the Ihell of this tortoife, called 

 the hawk's-bill turtle, are much ftronger, thicker, and clearer 

 than thofe of any other kind, and conftitute the fole value of 

 the animal. They are femi-tranfparent, and elegantly varie- 

 gated with whitilh, yeUowifh, reddifti, and dark brown clouds 

 and undulations, fo as to conftitute, when properly prepared 

 and polifhed, one of the moll elegant articles for ornamen- 

 tal purpofes. Thefe laininx form the external coating, and 

 tliis is railed or feparated from the bony part, which it 

 covers, by placing fire beneath the fhell ; the heat foon 



TOR 



caufing the plates to ftart, fo as to be eafily detached from 

 the bone. Thefe plates vary in thicknefs, according to the 

 age and fize of the animal, and meafiire from an eighth to 

 a quarter of an inch in thicknefs. A large turtle is faid to 

 aff"ord about eiglit pounds of tortoife-fhell ; or, according 

 to M. Schoepf, from ^ve to fifteen or twenty pounds ; and 

 unlefs the animal itfelf be about the weight of 150 pounds, 

 the fhell is not worth much. 



" In order to bring tortoife-fhell into the particular form 

 required on the part of the artift," fays Dr. Shaw, " it is 

 fleeped in boiling water, till it has acquired a proper degree 

 of foftnefs, and immediately afterwards committed to the 

 prelfure of a ftrong metallic mould of the figure required ; 

 and where it is neceffary that pieces fhould be joined fo as to 

 compofe a furface of confiderable extent, the edges of the 

 refpeftive pieces are firft fcraped or thinned, and being laid 

 over each other during their heated ftate, are committed to a 

 ftrong prefs, by which means they are efFeftually joined or 

 agglutinated. Thefe are the methods alfo by which the 

 various ornaments of gold, filver, &c. are occafionally af- 

 fixed to the tortoife-fhell, which is not capable of being 

 melted, as vulgarly fuppofed. The Greeks and Romans 

 appear to have been pecuharly partial to this elegant orna- 

 mental article, with which it was cuftomary to decorate the 

 doors and pillars of their houfes, their beds, &c. In the 

 reign of Auguftus, this fpecies of luxury feems to have 

 been at its height in Rome." Shaw's General Zoology, 

 vol. iii. pt. I. 



The Egyptians, fays Mr. Bruce in his AbyfTinian Tra- 

 vels, dealt very largely with the Romans in this elegant 

 article of commerce. According to Pliny, the cutting of 

 them for fineering or inlaying was firft praAifed by Carvi- 

 hus Pollio ; and this circumftance leads us to prefume, that 

 the Romans were not acquainted with the art of feparating 

 the laminae by fire placed in the infide of the fhell, when the 

 meat is taken out ; for thefe fcales, though they appear per- 

 fectly diftinft and feparate, neverthelefs adhere, and more 

 frequently break than fplit, where the mark of feparation 

 may be diftinttly feen. Martial fays, that beds were inlaid 

 with it. Juvenal and Apuleius mention, that the Indian bed 

 was all-over fhining with tortoife-fhell on the outfide, and 

 fwelling with ftufiing down within. The immenfe ufe made 

 of it at Rome may be inferred from what Velleius Paterculus 

 fays, wlio obferves, that when Alexandria was taken by 

 Julius Caefar, the magazines were fo full of this article, that 

 he propofed to have made it the principal ornament of his 

 triumph, as he ufed ivory afterwards, when triumphing for 

 having happily finifhed the African war. This fubftance 

 has been, in more modern times, a great article in the trade 

 to China. 



Tortoife-fhell colour may be given to horn, by firft preff- 

 ing the horn into proper plates or fcales, and tempering two 

 parts of quick-lime and one of litharge to the confiftence 

 of a foft parte with foap-ley. Let this parte be laid over 

 all the parts of the horn, except fuch as are proper to be 

 left tranfparent, and thus let it remain till it be thoroughly 

 dry ; when the paile being brufhed off, the horn will be 

 found partly opaque and partly tranfparent, like tortoife- 

 fhell. Semi-tranfparent parts may be added, by mixing 

 whiting with fome of the parte to weaken its eifeft in parti- 

 cular places, by which means fpots of a reddifh-brown will 

 be produced, which will incrcafe the beauty of the work as 

 well as its refemblance of real tortoife-fhell. Handmaid to 

 the Arts, vol. i. p. 518. 



Tortoise, in the Military Art. See Testudo. 



Tortoise, River of, in Geography, a river of North 

 America, in Louifiana and Florida, formed by the Mif- 

 fiffippi. 



TORTOLA, 



