﻿350 
  BABCOCK: 
  NEW 
  ENGLAND 
  TURTLES. 
  

  

  the 
  hole 
  while 
  the 
  right 
  flipper 
  took 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  left 
  side. 
  Before 
  the 
  body 
  was 
  pushed 
  back 
  

   to 
  the 
  left 
  by 
  the 
  right 
  leg 
  it 
  made 
  a 
  sudden 
  movement 
  forward 
  and 
  threw 
  out 
  a 
  considerable 
  

   bit 
  of 
  sand, 
  making 
  a 
  hole 
  just 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  the 
  place 
  where 
  the 
  sand 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  nest 
  had 
  

   been 
  deposited. 
  This 
  sand 
  was 
  pushed 
  into 
  the 
  hole 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  it 
  when 
  the 
  turtle 
  moved 
  

   back 
  to 
  the 
  right 
  again 
  and 
  thrown 
  out 
  just 
  before 
  it 
  moved 
  to 
  the 
  left 
  the 
  following 
  time. 
  

   Thus 
  the 
  two 
  hind 
  flippers 
  alternated 
  in 
  scooping 
  the 
  sand 
  from 
  the 
  nest 
  until 
  a 
  cylindrical 
  hole 
  

   was 
  dug 
  nearly 
  as 
  deep 
  as 
  their 
  length. 
  The 
  alternation 
  from 
  right 
  to 
  left 
  was 
  perfectly 
  regular. 
  

   Neither 
  flipper 
  ever 
  took 
  sand 
  from 
  the 
  hole 
  twice 
  in 
  succession. 
  

  

  "After 
  the 
  hole 
  was 
  completed 
  the 
  turtle 
  assumed 
  a 
  position 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  cloaca 
  was 
  very 
  

   nearly 
  over 
  the 
  center 
  of 
  it 
  and 
  began 
  to 
  lay 
  at 
  once. 
  The 
  cloaca 
  projected 
  fully 
  2 
  inches 
  during 
  

   the 
  process 
  of 
  laying. 
  The 
  head 
  was 
  well 
  extended 
  and 
  fiat 
  on 
  the 
  ground. 
  The 
  anterior 
  

   end 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  was 
  raised 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  ventral 
  surface 
  made 
  an 
  angle 
  of 
  about 
  20° 
  with 
  the 
  

   horizontal. 
  There 
  was 
  no 
  arrangement 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  in 
  the 
  nest 
  as 
  fishermen 
  sometimes 
  assert. 
  

   The 
  eggs 
  were 
  dropped 
  from 
  the 
  cloaca 
  into 
  the 
  hole 
  in 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  at 
  a 
  time 
  at 
  inter- 
  

   vals 
  of 
  from 
  4 
  to 
  8 
  seconds. 
  Two 
  were 
  deposited 
  together 
  about 
  every 
  fourth 
  time. 
  During 
  

   the 
  discharge 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  the 
  hind 
  flippers 
  were 
  sUghtly 
  raised, 
  and 
  in 
  one 
  case 
  (witnessed 
  at 
  

   night 
  earlier 
  in 
  the 
  summer) 
  there 
  was 
  heavy 
  breathing 
  which 
  was 
  very 
  distinctly 
  heard. 
  In 
  

   the 
  tvu"tle 
  under 
  present 
  consideration, 
  however, 
  not 
  the 
  sUghtest 
  sound 
  was 
  detected. 
  

  

  "Fishermen 
  often 
  say 
  that 
  after 
  a 
  turtle 
  begins 
  to 
  lay 
  it 
  Avill 
  continue 
  even 
  if 
  it 
  is 
  turned 
  

   on 
  its 
  back. 
  I 
  did 
  not 
  try 
  this, 
  but 
  I 
  did 
  strike 
  the 
  turtle 
  a 
  sound 
  blow 
  on 
  the 
  head 
  with 
  a 
  

   heavy 
  stick, 
  using 
  both 
  hands, 
  at 
  two 
  different 
  times 
  while 
  she 
  was 
  laying. 
  She 
  withdrew 
  

   her 
  head, 
  moved 
  slightly 
  to 
  one 
  side 
  and 
  stopped 
  laying, 
  but 
  only 
  for 
  a 
  few 
  moments. 
  Noise 
  

   and 
  gentle 
  contact 
  did 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  affect 
  her 
  in 
  the 
  least. 
  

  

  "It 
  is 
  commonly 
  thought 
  that 
  the 
  loggerhead 
  turtle 
  ordinarily 
  lays 
  three 
  times 
  during 
  

   each 
  summer, 
  about 
  150 
  eggs 
  the 
  first 
  time, 
  fewer 
  the 
  second 
  time, 
  and 
  about 
  80 
  the 
  third. 
  

   I 
  did 
  not 
  ascertain 
  precisely 
  how 
  many 
  eggs 
  were 
  laid 
  by 
  the 
  turtle 
  under 
  observation. 
  It 
  is 
  

   almost 
  impossible 
  to 
  remove 
  the 
  eggs 
  from 
  the 
  nest 
  without 
  killing 
  the 
  embryos, 
  and, 
  since 
  

   there 
  have 
  been 
  many 
  trustworthy 
  observations 
  on 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  eggs 
  laid, 
  it 
  seemed 
  unnec- 
  

   essary 
  to 
  destroy 
  the 
  young 
  for 
  the 
  sake 
  of 
  learning 
  the 
  exact 
  nmnber 
  in 
  this 
  particular 
  nest. 
  

  

  "Immediately 
  after 
  the 
  eggs 
  were 
  discharged 
  the 
  turtle 
  began 
  to 
  cover 
  them. 
  In 
  doing 
  

   this 
  she 
  moved 
  the 
  posterior 
  end 
  back 
  and 
  forth 
  much 
  as 
  she 
  did 
  in 
  digging 
  the 
  hole. 
  As 
  this 
  

   end 
  proceeded 
  to 
  the 
  right 
  the 
  left 
  flipper 
  was 
  thrust 
  backward 
  into 
  the 
  sand 
  and 
  then 
  suddenly 
  

   moved 
  inward 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  throw 
  and 
  scrape 
  the 
  sand 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  eggs 
  inmiediately 
  back 
  of 
  it. 
  As 
  

   it 
  proceeded 
  to 
  the 
  left 
  the 
  right 
  flipper 
  acted 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  way, 
  but 
  of 
  course 
  it 
  threw 
  the 
  sand 
  

   in 
  the 
  opposite 
  direction. 
  Thus 
  the 
  tvu-tle 
  fiUed 
  the 
  trench 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  hole, 
  stopping 
  fre- 
  

   quently 
  to 
  pack 
  the 
  sand, 
  especially 
  that 
  over 
  the 
  eggs. 
  This 
  she 
  did 
  by 
  placing 
  the 
  pos- 
  

   terior 
  pointed 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  on 
  the 
  sand 
  and 
  elevating 
  the 
  anterior 
  end 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  bring 
  her 
  

  

  