LECTURE Vir. 
9 
of Air. Schoepf, a German author who has written 
on this subject^ is particularly important, and may 
tend to save zoological students a great deal of 
trouble j viz. that the apparent number of the 
claws or projecting extremities on the feet of the 
marine Tortoises or Turtles, appears to be no cer- 
tain criterion of the species, but is found to vary 
in such a manner as to contradict the Limijean 
characters. Thus on collating a number of spe- 
cimens of the Testudo Mydas or common green 
Turtle, some will be found with only a single daw 
on each foot, others with two, or even three, and 
others with two on the fore-feet and one on the 
hind. It also appears that the same variation 
occasionally takes place in the number of claws 
on the feet of some of the land-Tortoises, and 
particularly in those of the Greek or common 
Tortoise, tlie more particular history of which I 
shall now proceed to give in as few words as pos- 
sible. In its native regions it is said to make its 
first appearance in the month of February, and in 
June lays its eggs in some snowy spot, having 
first scratched a hole for their reception. The 
young are hatched after the first rains in Sep- 
