﻿WOOD 
  TORTOISE. 
  405 
  

  

  purposes 
  of 
  holding 
  the 
  female, 
  but 
  like 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  the 
  whistling 
  male 
  previously 
  recorded. 
  

   The 
  female's 
  head 
  looked 
  to 
  be 
  retracted 
  and 
  the 
  male's 
  head 
  had 
  followed 
  to 
  the 
  withdrawn 
  

   head 
  of 
  the 
  female. 
  After 
  these 
  turtles 
  were 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  water 
  the 
  writer 
  could 
  not 
  verify 
  

   the 
  actual 
  head 
  relations- 
  nor 
  see 
  the 
  actual 
  cloacal 
  contact. 
  For 
  several 
  minutes 
  the 
  male 
  

   however 
  maintained 
  its 
  grasp. 
  With 
  the 
  prominent 
  fore-claws 
  the 
  male 
  held 
  on 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  

   the 
  female's 
  carapace 
  near 
  the 
  suture 
  between 
  the 
  first 
  and 
  second 
  cephahc 
  plates. 
  The 
  space 
  

   between 
  these 
  two 
  feet 
  was 
  barely 
  the 
  width 
  of 
  the 
  male's 
  head. 
  The 
  hind 
  claws 
  similarly 
  

   held 
  the 
  next 
  to 
  the 
  last 
  pair 
  of 
  caudal 
  marginals." 
  

  

  Young. 
  — 
  It 
  is 
  unusual 
  to 
  find 
  very 
  young 
  specimens 
  of 
  either 
  this 
  species 
  or 
  the 
  Box 
  

   Tortoise 
  (Terrapene 
  Carolina). 
  It 
  is 
  behaved 
  that 
  they 
  remain 
  very 
  closely 
  under 
  cover 
  until 
  

   well 
  grown. 
  In 
  this 
  connection 
  Agassiz 
  states 
  that 
  although 
  he 
  had 
  received 
  hundreds 
  of 
  adults 
  

   he 
  had 
  never 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  obtain 
  a 
  single 
  young 
  specimen 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  year. 
  Thoreau 
  speaks 
  of 
  

   finding 
  one 
  young 
  specimen 
  1| 
  inches 
  long, 
  with 
  no 
  orange, 
  only 
  buff 
  or 
  leathei 
  color 
  on 
  the 
  

   sides. 
  At 
  birth 
  the 
  length 
  of 
  carapace 
  is 
  30 
  to 
  32 
  mm. 
  

  

  Habits. 
  — 
  The 
  striking 
  fact 
  in 
  the 
  behavior 
  of 
  this 
  turtle 
  is 
  that 
  it 
  combines 
  as 
  aquatic 
  

   with 
  a 
  terrestrial 
  existence, 
  being 
  in 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  transition 
  from 
  a 
  lower 
  to 
  a 
  higher 
  plane 
  of 
  hfe 
  

   (see 
  Habitat). 
  It 
  travels 
  well 
  on 
  land, 
  yet 
  is 
  an 
  excellent 
  swimmer. 
  One 
  of 
  my 
  specimens 
  

   which 
  had 
  hved 
  four 
  years 
  in 
  an 
  aquarium, 
  adopted 
  completely 
  terrestrial 
  habits 
  without 
  

   difficulty. 
  Speaking 
  of 
  its 
  tenacity 
  of 
  hfe, 
  Linsley 
  (1844) 
  says: 
  "Mr. 
  S. 
  Crofut 
  of 
  Derby 
  

   assured 
  me 
  that 
  he 
  once 
  laid 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  tortoises 
  on 
  its 
  back 
  upon 
  a 
  rock, 
  and 
  laid 
  a 
  stone 
  on 
  

   it 
  to 
  retain 
  it 
  in 
  that 
  postm-e, 
  and 
  three 
  weeks 
  after 
  he 
  found 
  it 
  in 
  that 
  situation 
  as 
  he 
  left 
  it, 
  

   but 
  apparently 
  as 
  lively 
  and 
  well 
  as 
  ever. 
  He 
  then 
  turned 
  it 
  over 
  and 
  put 
  on 
  the 
  stone 
  again; 
  

   and 
  after 
  a 
  great 
  length 
  of 
  time 
  had 
  elapsed, 
  having 
  forgotten 
  it, 
  he 
  found 
  it 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  ever, 
  

   and 
  then 
  released 
  it. 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  It 
  evinces 
  a 
  wonderful 
  capacity 
  of 
  the 
  animal 
  to 
  sustain 
  hfe 
  under 
  these 
  

   very 
  trjdng 
  circumstances." 
  

  

  Huse 
  (1901, 
  p. 
  49) 
  relates 
  the 
  following: 
  "A 
  specimen 
  that 
  I 
  kept 
  for 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  two 
  

   seasons 
  ate 
  nothing 
  for 
  a 
  while 
  but 
  was 
  brought 
  to 
  his 
  appetite 
  by 
  ripe 
  strawberries. 
  After 
  

   that 
  he 
  would 
  eat 
  almost 
  any 
  soft 
  vegetable 
  food. 
  Placed 
  in 
  a 
  pen 
  with 
  some 
  rabbits, 
  he 
  re- 
  

   peated 
  the 
  old 
  fable 
  in 
  a 
  revised 
  form 
  by 
  chmbing 
  the 
  poultry 
  netting 
  that 
  served 
  as 
  a 
  fence 
  

   and 
  escaping 
  while 
  his 
  long-legged 
  companions 
  stayed 
  behind." 
  

  

  Shufeldt 
  (1916) 
  in 
  describing 
  the 
  actions 
  of 
  a 
  pair 
  kept 
  in 
  captivity 
  says 
  that 
  the 
  male 
  

   killed 
  the 
  female 
  by 
  biting 
  her 
  until 
  she 
  died 
  from 
  loss 
  of 
  blood. 
  He 
  states 
  thac 
  the 
  male 
  was 
  

   affectionate, 
  coming 
  to 
  rest 
  on 
  one 
  of 
  his 
  feet 
  as 
  he 
  sat 
  writing 
  at 
  his 
  study 
  table. 
  Yerkes 
  

   (see 
  Box 
  Tortoise) 
  found 
  that 
  certain 
  behavior 
  reactions 
  in 
  this 
  species 
  more 
  nearly 
  approached 
  

   those 
  of 
  the 
  land-going 
  Box 
  Tortoise 
  than 
  did 
  those 
  of 
  either 
  the 
  Spotted 
  (Clemmys 
  guttata) 
  

   or 
  Painted 
  (Chrysemys 
  pida) 
  Turtles. 
  As 
  a 
  rule 
  the 
  Wood 
  Tortoise 
  is 
  not 
  vicious, 
  but 
  will 
  

   snap 
  occasionally. 
  

  

  