20 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



in Siam, resemble both in size and shape those of a domestic | 

 fowl. I 



Hardella thurgi, which likewise feeds solely on aquatic ; 

 plants, is, according to Anderson, brought to Calcutta in ; 

 large numbers during the cold months and sold to a low ; 

 caste of Hindoos, who keep them alive in tanks, selling and ; 

 eating them themselves. He gives the following account ' 

 of the extraordinary manner in which they are captured : j 

 " A number of men, all but naked, collect together, each : 

 man being provided with a large bundle of green marsh ' 

 grass neatly tied up in the form of a cylinder, measuring ; 

 about two feet long. These men enter the water, throwing ' 

 the bundles before them, which act as floats, and on which j 

 each man rests his chest as he gets beyond his depth. ' 

 Then, one after another, they push away these floats, dive 

 to the bottom of the river, and reappear generally with an i 

 example of Hardella obtained in the mud." i 



Chrysemys is a large genus distributed throughout North | 

 and Central America. The carapace is feebly convex, ; 

 the plastron is immovable. Although eminently aquatic, 

 frequenting rivers and ponds, and ditches in the case of ; 

 C. picta, these terrapins often leave the water, and are ' 

 most active on land. The soft parts as well as the shields : 

 are in most species most beautifully marked. In C. ornataj 

 for instance, the head and neck are streaked with orange, 

 while each costal and marginal shield is provided with a ^ 

 large yellow or orange ocellar spot. These markings are i 

 brighter and much better defined in the young than in \ 

 the adult, where, in a good many cases, they disappear ; 

 almost entirely. In C. scripta the sides of the head are , 

 ornamented with bright yellow, or yellow and pink bands. ; 



