Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/69

* LEATHERBACK. S body incased by a leatheiy integtniient instead of a bony or horny 'shell.' This remarkable turtle has been observed in all the tropical seas, but is everywhere rare and is probably apjjroach- ing extinction. It is more often seen in the ■western part of the Atlantic than elsewhere, and has been known to stray northward to Long Island and the coast of France. It exceeds all other turtles in size. The British JIuseum con- tains a specimen si.x and one-half feet long, the shell being four feet long. Such a specimen, it is believed, would weigh about 1000 pounds, and Agassiz relates that he saw some weighing more than a ton. The color is brown, more or less marked with yellow in youth. The head is very turtle-like; the tail has been almost lost. The fore flippers are broad and nearly as long as the body, while the hinder ones are broad, stout paddles, giving great swimming power, so that a dozen men have found it difficult to drag a hooked specimen up on a beach. This power is an adaptation to the almost continuous pelagic life led by the animal, which feeds principally on fish, crustaceans, mollusks, jellyfishes, and similar marine prey caught in the open sea or about submerged reefs. Its flesh is n<it of good taste, is rarely eaten, and is regarded by most persons as unwholesome. Its breeding habits are similar to those of other eiielonians. Rather later in the season than the true turtles, it seeks a sandy shore or islet, find buries in the sand a great number of eggs. The young turtles seek the water as soon as hatclied, but few survive to reach an age and size that make them safe against most enemies. Structlee and Affinities. These turtles dif- fer widely from ordinary chelonians, and com- petent herpetologists differ as to their histoiy and probable line of development. The factors in the discussion, and the varying views, are briefly presented by Hans Gadow in vol. viii. of The Camhriripe Xatiiral History (London. 1901). Gadow himself, supported by Boulenger, Cope, and others, believes Sphargis to be the sole remnant of a primitive group quite independent of the other chelonians. and constituting with its scantily known fossil ancestors an order, Athec.T, opposed to all remaining turtles (order Theco- phora ). ( See Turtle. ) The opposite view is that the genus is a specialized ofTshoot from the typical Chelonia. and separable only as a family. The structure of this turtle is very peculiar, especially as to its 'shell.' This is "not formed as in other turtles by an outgi-owth of the spine, for it is nowhere in contact with the internal skeleton, except by a nuchal bone: but is a real integument, continuous all around the body, and forming a jacket. This jacket consists of a dense leathery skin, in which are deeply im- bedded a mosaic of many hundreds of" little polygonal bony plates fitted closely together, and at intervals rising into (v.elve longitudinal ridges — seven dorsal, and five lateral and ventral. In young specimens the entire shell is soft, but ossi- fication proceeds with growth, and when mature the integument is almost rigid, though thin. Such an integument more closely resembles that of a crocodile than that of a true turtle; but Sphargis has a plastron and neural plate. BiBi,ioGR.PHT. Consult Gadow (above cited) ; Boulenger, Cntalor/tie of Chelonians in the British Museum (London, 1880); Case. Journal of Morphology, vol. xv. (London. 1897) ; Hay, 7 LEATHES. American yaluralist, vol. xxxii. (Philadelphia, 1898). LEATHER-BEETLE. A dcrmestid beetle- {Dermestcs lulpinus), allied to the bacon-beetle (q.v. ), whose grubs damage leather, even when made up into shoes, harness, etc.; they also dam- age silkworm cocoons, dried fish, and other dead animal matter. Its larvte feed voraciously, molt six times, and reach a full growth, under favorable circumstances, in from two to three Aveeks. They are likely to crawl away from their food when ready to pupate, and m"ake cells in wood or any near-by substance. The pupa stage lasts about two weeks. The best remedy is fumigation with bisulphide of carbon or hydro- cyanic-acid gas. LEATHER CLOTH. A coated or enameled textile faliric, intended to possess some of tlic good qualities of leather without being so costly. There is another patented form of leather clotii, however, which is in fact leather and not cloth. It consists of leather parings and shavings re- duced to a pulpy mass and molded to any desired form. See Enameled Cloth. LEATHER-FISH. A filefish (q.v.). LEATHER-FLOWER. A Xorth American plant. Sec Clemati.s. LEATHERJACKET. A bluish and silvery carangoid fish (OligopUtes saurus). numerous in the tropical seas on both sides of America, but not valued as food. A kindred species, Oliijo- plites salicns, is called 'sauteur." and both have many local names indicating swiftness and activ- ity. See Plate of Hokse-JIackeeel. LEATHERSTOCKING. The most familiar of the names given to Natty Bumppo. the hero of Cooper's pioneer romances, hence called the Leath- erstockiny Tales. LEATHER TURTLE (.so called from its coriaceous shell). (1) The leatherback (q.v.). (2) A soft-shelled turtle, especially those of the American genera Trionyx and Amyda. See Soft-Shelled Tirtle. LEATHERWOOD ( so called from the tough- ness of the bark). Moosewood. or WicoPY (Di'/ca palustris). A deciduous tree-like shrub from three to si.x feet high, native of Xorth America, which belongs to the natural order Thynieleacea>. The wood is white, soft, and very brittle. The bark is exceedingly tough, and has been used for ropes, baskets, etc. The leaves are lanceolate-oblong: the flowers, which appear before the leaves, yel- low. The shrub, which al>ounds in rich moist woods from Xew Brunswick to Minnesota, and south to the Gulf of ilexico, is used to some ex- tent in ornamental gardening. LEATHES, leTHz, St. let (1830-1900). An English theologian and Hebraist. He was born at Ellesborougli, Buckingham ; studied at .Tesus College, Cambridge; and in 18C.3 was appointed to the chair of Hebrew in King's College. London. From 1870 to 188.5 he was a member of the Old Testament Revision Committee. His skill as a Hebraist is to be seen in .1 f^hort Practical lie- hretc Crnmmar (I860). Leathes was delegate to the Evangelical Alliance in Xew York in 187:!. The last dozen years of his life were spent at Huch Hadham. Hertford. He is liest known for his lectures: The Witness of the Old Testament to Christ (1868); The Witness of Saint Paul to