250 NATURAL HISTORY 



thirteenth or fourteenth of April, yet, meet- 

 ing with an harsh reception, and blustering 

 cold north-east winds, they immediately 

 withdrew, absconding for several days, 

 till the weather gave them better encou- 

 ragement. 



LETTER XIII. 



TO THE SAME. 



DEAR SIR; April 12, 1772. 



W HiLE I was in Sussex last Autumn my 

 residence was at the village near Lemes, 

 from whence I had formerly the pleasure 

 of writing to you. On the first of Novem- 

 ber I remarked that the old tortoise, for* 

 merly mentioned, began first to dig the 

 ground in order to the forming of its hyber- 

 naculum, which it had fixed on just besjde 

 a great tuft of hepaticas. It scrapes out the 

 ground with its fore-feet, and throws it up 

 over its back with its hind ; but the mo^ 



