18380. ] Zovlogy. 129 
ZOOLOGY.? 
LEATHER TurRTLE.—Afropos of the article on the “ Leather 
Tortoise,” in the October NATURALIST, ee the following may 
be of interest to the author. 
A few years ago, in looking over the papers of Col. Richard 
Varick, the first. mayor of the City of New York, in search of 
autographs and documents relating to the Revolutionary War, I 
came across a Small circular, about six to seven inches in size, 
printed on the rough, unsized paper used by our forefathers, and 
of which the following i is a copy of the subject matter: 
“The dimensions of the Testudo coriacea, or leather tortoise, 
caught by Samuel Coon, one of the branch pilots of New York, 
on board the Young Pilot, by way of Sandy Hook, on the 27th 
Sept., 1811, and purchased by John Scudder, proprietor of the 
American Museum; No. 24 Chatham St., are as follows, taken 
under the eye of Dr. Mitchell, professor of natural history : 
Feet. Inches. 
7 
Length from extremity of the snout to the end of the tail...... 6 
Length of the buckler between the neck and tail..........--+- 5 8 
Girth of TE" DOAK Ga oe ee ci eee ee aun eee as 8 o 
“Circumference of the PRA NESE M A E EE E EE 13 2 
SENTER TE, T « 5 
$ of be ‘fin above the joint......-.0.eeeeeesees 2 5 
z We GR UNE RE E T ce 8 
Length of the mii HR EEE E O RE T A ee 3 9% 
head and neck from the buckler.... s.s.s... I 7% 
Dis ance ve tween the extreme tips of the two fore fins........ | 5 
Breadth of the Wikies a ee vaca 3 10% 
Length of the hinder ia eek 2 br 
cael! ore of the bero BAC er ee os yak EE 2 4% 
Distance bee yar the extreme tips of the two hinder fins....... 5 5 
Le iogh Of the thls ick. E T Lika T E I o 
Circumference xi the tail in the middle at 5 
Projection of the tail beyond the a tg one or 4 
Width of the mouth across f orne O īIọỌ 
yir ne ahe apes to the aires sien ead the jaws when o 
as wide open....... o 
E riha of the eye- ‘ball 2 after extraction from the ake.. o 5% 
“His weight, when taken, was supposed to be rising 900 lbs., 
but PUA the loss of blood previous to his death, he weighed only 
This little — if thus it may be styled, is a very neat aid - 
modest one, and was, perhaps, printed by the porna of the 
museum to call attention to the specimen. You will perceive 
that this capture antedates the ‘one you mention as having been 
made in Massachusetts bay by thirteen years.— W. R. Gerard. 
THE CHIPPING VERSUS THE EUROPEAN SPARROW. —During the aS 
o! 
last two seasons the much dreaded Toa Bare wom Ž 
(Pieris rapæ) has been infesting the cabbage in this vicinity. — : 
*The departments are conducted Ma Dr. ELLIOTT 
Cours, U Ta pe of VERE and DESDE 
