There are a good many other kinds of land-tortoises, some of which grow to a very great size. The largest of all comes from the Galapagos Islands, and is quite a giant; for some of them are more than four feet long, and weigh between eight and nine hundred pounds! These huge creatures, however, are now nearly extinct. TURTLES The turtles are distinguished from the tortoises by the structure of their feet, which are flattened out in such a way as to serve as paddles in the water. For this reason these reptiles hardly ever come upon land except when they want to lay their eggs; and they can swim so well that they are often met with many hundreds of miles out at sea. One of the best known of these creatures is the hawksbill turtle, which is so called because its mouth is shaped just like the beak of a hawk. The carapace is made up of thirteen large scales, which overlap one another for about a third of their length, just like the slates on the roof of a house. These scales are very valuable, for the best tortoise-shell is obtained from them. When they are first taken from the animal they do not look like tortoise-shell at all, for they are dull and crumpled and brittle. But after they have been boiled, and steamed, and pressed for some hours they quite change their character, and become so soft that they can easily be molded into any required shape. The eggs of this turtle are laid in a hole which the mother scrapes in the sand, and are hatched by the heat of the sun. As soon as the little turtles make their appearance they hurry off as fast as they can toward the water. But they are very good to eat, and a number of hungry animals and birds are always on the lookout for them, so that a very great many are snapped up and devoured before they can plunge into the waves. The famous turtle soup, which is considered so great a dainty, is made from the flesh of the green turtle, which is found most plentifully off the island of Ascension and in the West Indies. It grows to a great size, for it is often four feet six inches in length and three feet in breadth, while it may weigh nearly three-quarters of a ton. Of course it is not at all easy to capture such big creatures. But they are generally pursued when they come on shore to lay their eggs, and are turned over on their backs by means of a lever. They are then perfectly helpless, and can be left lying where they are until a number of others have been overturned in the same way, when they are lifted into a boat one by one, and are taken on board ship. There they thrive quite well if a pail of water is thrown over them two or three times a day, and are generally in very good condition when they reach this country.