?48 NATURAL HISTORY 
opinion from what I have remarked during fome of our late fprings, 
that though fome fwallows did make their appearance about the 
ufual time, viz. the thirteenth or fourteenth of April, yet meeting 
with an harfli reception, and bluftering cold north-eaft winds, they 
immediately withdrew, abfconding for feveraldays, till the weather 
gave them better encouragement. 
LETTER XIIL 
TO THE SAiME. 
DEAR SIR, April 12, 1772, 
While I was in Si'Jfex laft autumn my refidence was at the village 
near Leives, from whence I had formerly the pleafure of writing to 
\o\\. On the firft of November I remarked that the old tortoife^ 
formerly mentioned, began firfl to dig the ground in order to the 
forming it's hybernaculum, which it had fixed on juft befide a 
great tuft of hepaticas. It fcrapes out the ground with it's fore-feet, 
and throws it up over it's back with it's hind ; but the motion of 
it's legs is ridiculoufly flow, little exceeding the hour-hand of a 
clock ; and fuitable to the compofure of an animal faid to be a 
whole month in performing one feat of copulation. Nothing can 
be more affiduous than this creature night and day in fcooping the 
earth, and forcing it's great body into the cavity; but, as the noons 
of that feafon proved unufually warm and funny, it was continually 
interrupted, and called forth by the heat in the middle of the dayi 
and 
