to obtain these they will often scale a steep bank that is ten or fifteen feet above the water's edge. The eggs are deposited in hollows, to the number of fifty or sixty, the old Tortoises laying more than young ones. They are spherical in form; the shell is calcareous but in a slight degree, and is therefore more fragile than that of the eggs of the Emydes that inhabit the same waters. M. Lesueur counted in the ovary of a female twenty ready for laying, and an immense number of others, varying in their dimensions, from the size of a pin's head to the full volume attained when they become covered with the calcareous shell. They are caught by persons who angle for them with a hook and line, baited with a small fish; when drawn on shore they are dangerous, darting the head to the right and left with incredible velocity; they often inflict severe bites on their captors, so that the prudent chop off their heads as soon as they draw them out of the water; the flesh is very delicate in flavour.
It is believed that the Soft Tortoises pair, and that the male remains constantly attached to the same female, two individuals of different sexes being commonly seen together in any given locality.
Family IV. Sphargidæ.
(Leathery Turtles.)
In this and the following Family, the carapace is very much depressed, and their two pairs of feet, which are of unequal length, are flattened into the form of oars or solid fins, their toes being
