Like other oviparous quadrupeds the tortoise can subsist for an amazing length of time without food. They are very tenacious of life. A man named Redi, to prove the extreme vital tenacity of a tortoise, made a large opening in the skull, and took out all the brain, washing out the cavity so as not to leave the smallest particle, and then with the hole open, set the animal at liberty. It marched off without seeming to have received the slightest injury, except closing its eyes, which it never afterwards opened. In a short time the hole closed and in about three days a complete skin covered the wound. In this manner the ani

mal lived without any brain for six months, walking about and moving its limbs in the same manner as it had done previously to the operation.

Tortoise shell is the production of the imbricated turtle, a species which is found in the Asiatic and American seas and sometimes in the Mediterranean. The shields of this species are far more strong, thick and clear than those of any other. They are first steeped in boiling water, after which they may be moulded into almost any form.

The family of tun-snails is interesting for various reasons; their shell is round and thin. The mollusk has a large, egg-shaped, thick foot, which can be greatly expanded by admitting a large quantity of water. The head is flat and broad; and they have a large thick trunk.

CHAPTER XVIII.

MONSTROUS REPTILES OF THE TROPICAL WORLD.

The Crocodile-Power of Destruction-The Tyrant of the Tropical Seas-Double Jaws-Teeth and Scales-Egg of the Crocodile-Old Stories of the East-The Crocodile's Little Friend-Danger Signal-A Harpoon Thrust-Swift Swimmer--Deadly Serpents-A Cold-Blooded Bosom Companion-Eastern SnakeCharmers-Coolness Saves a Man's Life-Foolhardy Risk-Gurling KilledPoison Working with Lightning Rapidity-Venomous Viper-Dancing SnakesFascination of Music for Serpents-Death of a Notorious Serpent-Eater—A Disgusting Glutton-Huge Boa-Constrictor-Blind Adoration of the BoaLines by Southey-A Monster Swallowing its Bed-Disgorging a BlanketVast Size of the Boa-Enormous Muscular Power-Fed to Death-Tree Snakes with Magnificent Colors-The Slender Whip Snake-Frightful Accident in Guinea-Ghastly Fangs-The Egg-Eater-Immense Throat of a Tiny CreatureSerpents of Surprising Beauty-Queer Popular Superstitions-The RedThroated Lizard-Hideous Cristatus-The Curious Moloch-A Freak in the World of Reptiles-The Pipa Toad —A Creature that Hatches Eggs on its BackDescription of the Batrachians - Death from a Toad-Winter's Sleep in a Bed of Mud.

F the eagle is the king of the air, the lion the despot of the forest, and the whale the monarch of the deep, the crocodile has for the exercise of his undisputed control the shores of tropical seas and rivers. Living on the confines of land and water, this formidable reptile is the scourge of those human beings who are compelled to reside near its haunts, for it surpasses the tiger, lion, or eagle in its power of destruction.

The teeth are implanted in a single row, and continually maintained perfect by an organic system which ensures their immediate reparation; for each tooth is hollowed at the base in such a manner as to form the cell or sheath for its successor. The new tooth presses on underneath the old one, so that the first is developing while the second is decaying. In some species the front teeth of the lower jaw are so long and sharp that they perforate the edge of the upper jaw and appear above the muzzle when the mouth is closed. Baron Cuvier says, "The lower jaw being continued behind the cranium, the upper one appears to be movable." The mouth is without lips, consequently, whether walking or swimming, their teeth are visible.

This conformation gives the crocodile a terrible and alarming aspect,

increased by its eyes, which are placed obliquely and close together. Its tail is long, tapering, and flat on the sides like an oar; enabling it to direct its course through the water, and swim with rapidity. The skin is coriaceous, thick, and resistant; being covered with plates of different size, according to the parts of the body they protect. On the skull and face the skin adheres to the bone, and there is no trace of scales.

The scales which defend the back and the upper part of the tail are square, and form hard bands possessed of great flexibility, which prevent them from breaking. Down the centre of the back there is a ridge, which adds to the strength of their armor. Thus, nature has provided for the safety of these animals by covering them with a cuirass capable of resisting anything but fire-arms. The plates which cover the belly, neck, tail, and legs, are also arranged in bands, but are less hard, and not crested. Crocodiles are oviparous. The females of the Nile deposit their eggs where the solar heat soon brings them to maturity. But in certain countries, such as in the neighborhood of Cayenne and Surinam, the eggs are buried under a mound of leaves which the alligators form. This undergoes a kind of fermentation, the result of which is an increase of temperature, which produces the desired result.

Lacépède describes an egg in the Museum of Natural History in Paris, which was laid by a crocodile fourteen feet in length, killed in Upper Egypt. This egg is only two inches and a half in length, and two inches in breadth. It is oval and whitish. Its shell is cretaceous in substance, like the eggs of birds, but not so hard. At the time of birth crocodiles are only about six inches in length, but their growth is very rapid. Seizing water-fowl as they swim on the surface, pursuing fishes in the depths of the lagoon or river, or grasping in its jaws a large animal, as a pig or a dog, on the bank, the crocodile plunges beneath the water in order to drown its victim, and, were its throat open, would suffer great inconvenience; but there is a valve which prevents its occurrence.

Ancient Reverence for the Crocodile.

Strabo tells a strange story of a crocodile he saw when he visited Egypt, about four hundred years after Herodotus was there. "In this district they honor the crocodile very much, and they have a sacred one which lives by itself in the lake, and is quite tame to the priests. He is called Suchos, and is fed with bread, and meat, and wine, which he gets from strangers who come to see him. Our host, who was a person of importance in the place, accompanied us to the lake, taking with him from table a small cake, some roasted meat, and a little cup full of some

FAMOUS EGYPTIAN CROCODILE.

sweet liquor. We found the crocodile lying on the margin of the lake. The priests went up to him, and while some opened his mouth, another crammed into it first the cake, then the meat, and last of all, poured the drink down his throat. The crocodile, after this treat, jumped into the lake, and swam over to the other side."

According to Herodotus, crocodiles are sacred with some of the Egyptians; but are not so with others, who treat them as enemies. Those who dwell about Thebes, and the lake Moris, look on them as very sacred, and they each train up a crocodile, which is rendered quite Into the ears of these crocodiles they put crystal and gold earrings, and adorn their fore paws with bracelets. They give them appointed and sacred food, treating them as well as possible while alive, and when dead they embalm and bury them in the sacred vaults. But the people who dwell about the city Elephantine eat them, not considering them sacred.

"The crocodile," continues the historian, "is blind in the water, but very quick-sighted on land; and because it lives for the most part in the water, its mouth is filled with leeches. All other birds and beasts avoid him, but he is at peace with the trochilus, because he receives benefit from that bird; for when the crocodile gets out of the water on land, and then opens its jaws, which it does most commonly toward the west, the trochilus enters its mouth and swallows the leeches. The crocodile is so well pleased with this service, that it never hurts the trochilus."

The Crocodile's Little Friend.

This singular story, related also by Pliny, is confirmed by a recent and accomplished writer, Mr. Curzon. "I will relate," he says, "a fact in natural history which I was fortunate enough to witness, and which, although it was mentioned so long ago as the times of Herodotus, has not, I believe, been often observed since; indeed, I have never met with any traveller who has himself seen such an occurrence.

"I had always a strong predilection for crocodile-shooting, and had destroyed several of these dragons of the waters. On one occasion I saw, a long way off, a large one, twelve or fifteen feet long, lying asleep under a perpendicular bank, about ten feet high, on the margin of the river. I stopped the boat at some distance, and, noting the place as well as I could, I took a circuit inland, and came down cautiously to the top of the bank, whence, with a heavy rifle, I made sure of my ugly game. I had already cut off his head in my imagination, and was considering whether it should be stuffed with its mouth open or shut. I