122 



BRANCH VERTEBRATA. 



&7 



FIG. 212. 



tu'do virginia'na. Box Tortoise. 



FIG. 213. 



The Land Tortoises have feet formed only for walking 



and hence they never enter 

 the water. Their food con- 

 sists of soft plants, as mush- 

 rooms. 



The River Tortoise is a 

 common North American 

 species. Its sharp - edged 

 jaws are strong enough to 

 bite asunder a stick half an 

 inch in diameter. It is fond 



of water-fowl, swimming beneath the surface, seizing and 



quietly dragging them under. About June 10th, in the 



temperate climates, it lays 



thirty to fifty spherical 



eggs. For their reception, 



a hole is scooped in the 



sand by the hind feet, and 



then smoothed over and 



left. This entire work 



occupies but fifteen or 



twenty minutes. The eggs are hatched by the heat of 



the sun in about three months, when the young imme- 

 diately take to the water. 



ORDER CROCODILIA (krok o dil'i a). 



The members of this order inhabit the waters of the 

 warmer countries, and are of considerable size. The feet 

 are powerful, armed with claws and formed for swim- 

 ming, the digits being united with webs. The body is 

 protected by a tough leathery skin, well supplied with 

 hard bony plates. The eggs are deposited in a heap of 

 mud and vegetable matter, which the mother collects, 



t'kel'&dra serpenfi'na. 

 River Tortoise, " Snapping Turtle. Q.) 



