114 
THF. TROPICAL AORlCULTURIST. 
[August i, 1891. 
Then he oommenoed to ramble about the garden 
during the day, hiding at night under a shrub on 
the sunny side of the wall. 
'* For his winter residence he seldom soleoted a 
south aepeot. The short grass on the lawn seemed 
in the early spring to give him the food ho needed 
then dandelion and a variety of young seedlings or 
tender berbaoeous planla were all devoured with 
evident rcdisb. .So much was this the case with 
certain plants— young Af/niler/ia for instance— Hint 
we lost some varieties which wo have not been able 
to replace. But the ' bonne boucho ’ of the sum- 
mer was evidently the soft juicy stalk and seed cl 
of the ornitlioyalum iiutuiin (Star of Bethlehem). 
These seeds he devoured in large qnanlitics and they 
were with the datnl elion llowor, the only food which 
we could tempt him to eat from cur liands. The 
ravages ho committed led to many complaints from 
the gardeners and various devices wo e resorted to, to 
restrain him within bounds. A low fence of wiie 
netting sii inohes high enolosing a spaeo of 6vo cr 
six feet square made him a convenient ‘pound’ 
where he was fed with lettuce and dandelion; bit 
this iraprisonmont was evidently very irksome, as he 
spent most of hia 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 tlicn 
with all his force rushing like a battering rain 
against the ohstniotion. Whether in revenge t r 
not I nannot say, but of late years the t'.rtuiso look 
great delight in creeping after the gardeners and 
butting hard against their boots whilst they were 
engaged in work : and on ‘mowing days ' especially 
this became so troublesome that it was more need- 
ful to imprison him. In order to give him a wider 
range we at laet resorted to the plan of inserting a 
wire ring into the outer edge of his shell to which 
a string was fastened to a short p st which could 
at pleasure be moved to different parts of the lawn. 
This he more quietly resigned himself to, though it 
was evidenily opposed to his quaintly active habile 
during the bummer days. Even on summer niglutt 
he went to bed early. During the past autumn I 
had noticed that ho appeared Jess active ilian usual 
and that food left for him was frequently untouched. 
The tortoise, however, disappeared as usual when 
the cold weather came, leaving no trace behind 
him, and it was only in April when the border wns 
being dug up that be was found, and then, alas, it 
was discovered that he had perished from Ihe extreme 
oold, and thus quietly ended his unevonlful life. 
“ The torloise had grown very oensidi rably sinoa 
he first came and his shell measured hi inches 
across by 10 inohes in length. 
" I cannot recall that he evinced any peculiar 
offeotion for any of us, and the only eouml he ever 
gave forth was a very angry hissing when lifted from 
the grass, which sounded like a vigorous attempt 
at cursing. But for sIl that we miss him more 
than many who have sain morn, and we can place 
him among those of whom the pool says : — 
* Alas for tliose that never sing 
But die with all tlicir music intbem.' 
Silently ho lived his lonely little life, separated 
from hia kindred, and silontly he pa8.:od out of it. 
But he lived aurronnied by friends who had a 
sincere regard for him, and who did what they 
could to make him happy, and ha died la mented. 
“ 1 cannot remember where ho oarua from, and I 
cannot guess how old ho was; but for near tliirty 
years he has wandered over our lawn in sunsbine 
and cloud, and the obildren who loved to play with 
him whi-n ho first came are now grown men uiid 
women, and are scattered up and down file world. 
He bad been wilh us for a generation, and wo 
mourn for him as a ‘liuk’ with tlio past, though 
it be but A euiall one.” 
Tlie mail of 5th June has brought us the 
following : — 
A Livmo Heirloom. — We are indebted to Mr. A 
fl. Jefferies, of the Gloncoster Arms Hotel, for the 
following very interesting narrative “ The interest- 
iiig account of the life and lamented death of an 
old fii-od and snrarcer visitant given ^ Mr. 
Tuke in the Journal al the Hitohin Natural History 
Olnb. and rej'roluced in the Express, has led mo to 
record a few particulars of another sojourner in our 
town of the Eamo species. This tortoise is named 
Jacko, and ho has not, I am happy to say, succum- 
h(d to the late severe winter, but is, at the presant 
moment, ai hale and hearty as over. The scene of 
the earliest recorded event in .Jaoko’a history is laid 
at Gloucester. There, about 6-5 years ago, ha was 
purchased (like most of his kindled who have taken 
up their abode in this country) from a sailor, by the 
present owner’s grandfathtr. Ho was then quite 
small ; he now measures eleven inches in length and 
ten aoross. lie has lived sucoessively at Gloucester 
Derby and Hitchin, and hss been treated as a sort 
of heirloom by the family into which he was pur- 
chased, end has descended in a direct line to the 
present owner. Jaoko is a very much domesticated 
tortoise. His food consists chiefly of bread sopped 
in milk, wliich oonstituies his morning and principal 
meal ; he is very fond of fruit, also of dandelion 
and lettuce. Ho apparently pcssess's nffectim for 
or partiality to some members of the household 
and will even follow those ho is supposed to be fond 
of, but ho in very sulky with strangers. He is the 
cliildren’a playfellow, and is very fond of snugly 
stowing himself away in a doll’s oradle; at other 
times ho prefers to sleep with the household cat, 
wilh whom he is on the most friendly terms. 
Though such an unostentatious creature, he has 
pcvetthelees figured to some extent in public life. 
On two ooeasions he has during hia winter's sleep 
been (xhibiled at local bazaars as the “Sleeping 
beauty,’’ wlien some of the spootatora have seemed 
dubious as to his claims to this description. At 
autumn he has always been closely watched, and 
when his natural inclinati,.!' td bury himself mani- 
fisted itself be was placed in some warm and secure 
coiner and covered up, and bis burying propensities 
ibwp.rlcl. During last winter ha was well wrapped 
up ill old e'otb, and does not appB.ir to have ex- 
perimeed any inconvenience from the severe weather. 
Jacko has met with one adventure in the ooiitsE of 
liis uneventful life. On this occasion he was lost 
—or, to he morn aocuiate, I ought to say stolen 
but, as a result of setting the Tonm Crier to work 
and advertising in the Express, he was soon after 
found lying on hia back in tbo yard, having it is 
supposed, been thrown over the wall, and thus 
returned to his rightful owner. As a result of this 
experionco he was seriously indisposed for a time, 
but eventually recovered. Jaoko has now been a 
resident of Hitohin for ‘20 years. " 
[Perhaps some correspondent may pnt together all 
the authentic didails which are available regarding 
the veteran tortoiae, now blin.i, which has for so 
many years wandered in tho Tanque Halgado swamp 
and the grounds of Uplands, Colombo?— Bn. T. A,] 
ECHOES OP science!. 
According ti the nniuinl repart of the Agricul- 
tural Department on Injurious Inaeoia and Fungi 
reiwiitly is-ued by the Ib.nr.i of Trade, it has been 
arrcnied widi the Post Office to distribute leaf, 
lets on tlie attacks of ctojrs in the rnr.al districts. 
Trials of the plan have been nude in the ease of 
the Hessian Hy and winter moth ; posters showing 
magnified iilustriitions of tbese insects being also 
