114 
The tropical aqriculturist. 
[August i, 1891, 
Then he commenced to rnmble about the garden 
during the day, hiding at night under a ehrub on 
the sunny side of the ■R-all. 
" For his winter residence he seldom selected a 
south aspect. The short grass on the lawn Beemed 
in the early npring to give him the food he needed ■ 
then dandelion and a variety of young seedlings or 
tender herbaceous planis were a!l devoured wit'i 
evident relish. So niuoh was this the case with 
certain plants— young Aqvileyia for instance — that 
we lost some varieties which we have not been able 
to replace. But the ' bonne bouche ' of the sum- 
mer was evidently the soft juicy stalk and seed of 
of the oruitho(jaIum nutans (;?tar of Bethlehem). 
These Seeds he devoured in large quantities and they 
were with the dandelion flower, the only food which 
we could tempt bim to eat from our hands. The 
ravages ha committed led to many complaints from 
the gardeners and various devices wei-e resorletl to, to 
restrain him within bounds. A low fence of wire 
netting six inches high enclosiog a spacn of five or 
six feet square made him a convenient 'pound' 
where he was fed with lettuce and dandelion; but 
this imprisonment was evidently very irksome, as be 
'spent most of hi.s days in making a futile attack 
upon the wire netting; very amusing it was to watch 
him retreating a few inches from the wire and then 
with all his force rushing like a battering ram 
against the obsfcrnctioD. Whether in revenge or 
not I cannot say, but of late years the tortoise took 
great delight in creeping after the gardeners and 
butting hard against their boots whilst they were 
engaged in work : and on ' mowing days ' especislly 
this became so troublesome that it was more neeci- 
ful to imprison him. In order to give him a wider 
range we at last resorted fo the plan of iosertiog a 
wire ring into the outer edge of his shell to whicii 
a string was fastened to a short pust v.'hich could 
at pleasure be moved to different parts of the lawn. 
This he more quietly refigned himself to, though it 
was evidently opposed to his quaintly active habiis 
during the summer days. Even on summer nights 
he went to bed early. During tho past autumn I 
had noticed that he appeared less active than usun.l 
and that food left for him was frequently uatouched. 
The tortoise, however, disappeared as usual when 
the cold weather csme, leaving no trace behind 
him, and it was only in April when the border wrs 
being dug up tbs«, f.-.- was fort-i. and I'len, alap, it 
was diseovfred ns hv' ■' -:t •'(] i><>i--' iiie •-■xiven" e 
'■I Cil-.not s^^:. -[■■.tht i hz- (BTjiio- 
effeotion for auy i iih, rtu i tii. onij coanii ne c ; 
gave forth was a very angry hissing when lifted irom 
the grass, which sounded like a vigoioua attempt 
at cursing. But for all that we miss him more 
than many who have tain more, and wa can place 
him among those of whom the poet says : — 
' Alas for those that never sing 
But die with all i^beir music in them.' 
Silently he lived his lonely little life, separated 
from his kindred, and silently he passed out of it. 
But he lived surrounied by friends who hud a 
sincere regard for him, and who did what they 
oould to make him happy, and ho died la tjented. 
" I cannot remember where he carua from, and I 
cannot guess how old he was; but for near thirty 
years he has wandered over our lawn in suns-iitiH 
and clo.uJ, ana the ciiildren who loved to play v.' th 
him whon )io firrft came are now grown men and 
v/omcn, and are scattered up an.l down the world. 
He had ben wilh us for a gouerdlion, and we 
mourn for him as a 'link' with the past, though 
it b9 but a uaxuU one." 
The mail of 5th .June has brought ua the 
following : — 
A Living Heieloom. — We are indebted to Mr. A 
0. Jefferies, of the Gloucester Arms Hotel, for the 
follov/ing very interesting narrative: — •" The interest- 
ing account of the life and lamented death of an 
old frircd and summer visitant given by Mr. 
Tuke in ihe Journal of the Hitchin Natural History 
Club, an'l repro luced in the Express, has led me to 
record a few particulars of another sojourner in our 
town of the same species. This tortoise is named 
Jacko, and he has not, I am happy to say, succum- 
bfd to the late severe winter, but is, at the present 
moment, s.< hale r.nd hearty as ever. The scene of 
tho earliest recorded event m .Jacko's history is laid 
at Gloucester. There, about 55 years ago, he was 
purcbas'jd flike rr.ost of his kindred who have taken 
up their abode in this country) from a sailor, by the 
present owner'^ grandfather. He was then quite 
smiill ; he now measures elevtn inches in length and 
ten across. He has lived succtssively at Gloucester 
Derby and Hitchin, and has been treated as a sort 
of heirloom by the family into which he was pur- 
chMsed, find has descended in a direct line to the 
present owner. Jacko is a very much domesticated 
tortoise. His food consists chiefly of bread sopped 
in milk, which constitutes his morning and principal 
meal ; he is vtry fond of fruit, also of dandelion 
and Je'-luce. He apparently possess' s afJection for 
or partiality to some members of the household 
and v.'ill even follow those he is supposed to be fond 
of, but ho is very sulky with slrangere. He is the 
children's playfellow, and ia very fond of snugly 
stowing himself away in a doll's cradle; at other 
times he i:)refers to sleep with the household cat, 
with whom he is on the most friendly terms. 
Though Euah an unostentatious creature, he has 
nevertheless figured to some extent in public life. 
On two ocoaeions he has during his winter's sleep 
been exhibited at local bazaars as the "Sleeping 
beauty," when some of the spectators have seemed 
dubious as to his claims to this description. At 
autumn he has always been closely watched, and 
when his natural inclinati..!'. to bury himself mani- 
fested itself he was placed in some warm and secure 
coiner and covered up, and his burying propensities 
thwarted. During last winter he was well wrapped 
up in old cloth, and does not appear to have ex- 
p -ritnced any inconvsnience from the severe weather. 
Iir^irohna met vfith one a i 'onture in the course of 
r" O bis . oCiisioi he was ;-,st 
'. oi.ght 10 s-av stolen — 
V To n .1 ' rk 
: . ^ i^.i^ c - .V _ /■ , a . r 
; i.My ii ■as jf. Je ,a he -'d, bavjng it is 
oupposed, been thrown over the wall, and ihus 
returned to his rightful owner. As a result of this 
experience he was seriously indisposed for a time, 
but eventually recovered. Jacko has now been a 
resident of Hitchin for 20 years." 
[Perhaps some correspondent may put together all 
the authentic details which are available regarding 
the veteran tortoise, now blinrl, which has for so 
many years wandered in the Tanque Salgado swamp 
and the grounds of Uplands, Colombo? — En. 2\ A.^ 
EC-flOES OF SCIENCE. 
According ti the annual report of the Agricul- 
tural Department on Injurious Insec's and Fungi 
recently is-ued by tbe Bi>nrd of Trade, it has been 
arrHUJcd wi'h the Post Office to distribute leaf- 
lets on the attacks of crops in the rural district*. 
'I'rialH of the pHu have been nude ia the case of 
the Hessian fly and winter moth ; posters showing 
magnified illustrations of these insects being also 
