66 



FIERCE TORTOISE. 



by Dr. Garden weighed twenty-five pounds, but 

 it is said to grow so large as to weigh seventy 

 pounds. The individual mentioned by Dr. Gar- 

 den layed fifteen eggs during the time it was kept, 

 which were exactly spherical, more than an inch 

 in diameter, and fifteen more were found on dis- 

 section. Its flesh is said to be extremely deli- 

 cate, being equal, if not superior, even to that of 

 the Green Turtle. 



The Great soft-billed Turtle, described bv Mr. 

 Bartram in his Travels, appears to be the same with 

 this. It is said by Mr. Bartram to be of a flat 

 form, two feet and a half long, and a foot and a 

 half broad : the shield soft and cartilaginous on 

 each side, and this part sometimes becomes gelatin- 

 ous on boiling : the fore and hind part of the shield 

 is beset with round horny warts or tubercles : the . 

 sternum or under shell semi cartilaginous, except on 

 the middle, where it is bony : the head large and 

 clubbed, and of an oval form : the nose extended, 

 truncated in the manner of a hog's snout : the 

 eyes large, and seated at its base : mouth wide ; 

 the edges tumid and wrinkled, and bearded by 

 several long pointed warts or processes, which are 

 extensile at the pleasure of the animal, and give it 

 an ugly and forbidding aspect. Mr. Bartram *s 

 figure also represents the throat and part of the 

 neck as furnished with similar warts. Mr. B. 

 ^dds, that it is fond of the muddy parts of rivers, 

 &c. hiding itself among the roots and leaves of 

 water plants, and thence springing on its prey, 

 stretching out its neck to an incredible length, 



