﻿BOX 
  TORTOISE. 
  413 
  

  

  Ditmars 
  (1907, 
  p. 
  61) 
  makes 
  an 
  interesting 
  note 
  in 
  this 
  connection: 
  "A 
  curious 
  and 
  inter- 
  

   esting 
  specimen 
  was 
  found 
  several 
  years 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  writing, 
  in 
  Virginia. 
  The 
  writer 
  

   had 
  been 
  roaming 
  over 
  the 
  beautiful 
  farmlands 
  that 
  once 
  constituted 
  the 
  battlefields 
  of 
  Bull 
  

   Run 
  and 
  Groveton. 
  He 
  had 
  stopped 
  to 
  examine 
  a 
  noble 
  tree, 
  gnarled 
  in 
  many 
  places 
  from 
  the 
  

   old 
  wounds 
  of 
  a 
  heavy 
  shell-fire. 
  The 
  tree 
  stood 
  on 
  a 
  knoll 
  near 
  Groveton 
  and 
  had 
  been 
  in 
  

   the 
  centre 
  of 
  a 
  shower 
  of 
  lead 
  and 
  iron 
  hail 
  during 
  the 
  stormy 
  days 
  of 
  war. 
  On 
  two 
  occasions 
  

   had 
  the 
  opposing 
  armies 
  swept 
  over 
  this 
  pretty 
  country 
  to 
  the 
  tune 
  of 
  cannon 
  and 
  musketiy 
  

   and 
  many 
  trees 
  beside 
  the 
  one 
  that 
  had 
  particularly 
  engaged 
  the 
  writer's 
  attention, 
  showed 
  

   battle 
  scars. 
  

  

  ' 
  ' 
  These 
  few 
  descriptive 
  words 
  are 
  in 
  strict 
  accordance 
  with 
  a 
  turtle 
  that 
  drew 
  the 
  ^\Titer's 
  

   attention, 
  as 
  it 
  emitted 
  a 
  sudden 
  hiss 
  and 
  closed 
  its 
  shell 
  tightly 
  at 
  his 
  approach. 
  It 
  was 
  a 
  very 
  

   old 
  specimen, 
  with 
  a 
  dull, 
  lustreless 
  shell. 
  Across 
  its 
  back 
  was 
  a 
  deep 
  furrow, 
  healed 
  by 
  many 
  

   years. 
  So 
  deeply 
  did 
  this 
  penetrate 
  into 
  the 
  creature's 
  shell 
  that 
  the 
  original 
  injury 
  must 
  have 
  

   penetrated 
  to 
  the 
  very 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  reptile's 
  vitals, 
  yet 
  a 
  wonderful 
  tenacity 
  of 
  Ufe 
  and 
  great 
  

   reconstructive 
  power 
  had 
  permitted 
  the 
  turtle 
  to 
  so 
  heal 
  the 
  wound 
  as 
  to 
  partially 
  cover 
  the 
  

   deep 
  tear 
  with 
  a 
  rough, 
  bony 
  growth. 
  Along 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  the 
  shell 
  were 
  other 
  indentations, 
  

   which 
  had 
  healed 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  manner. 
  Who 
  can 
  dispute 
  the 
  very 
  plausible 
  theory, 
  that 
  nearly 
  

   forty 
  years 
  before, 
  during 
  a 
  human 
  exchange 
  of 
  metal 
  animosities, 
  this 
  reptile 
  was 
  struck 
  by 
  

   a 
  fljaug 
  minie 
  ball 
  that 
  tore 
  the 
  furrow 
  and, 
  by 
  the 
  force 
  of 
  its 
  impact, 
  sent 
  the 
  creature 
  tumbUng 
  

   over 
  the 
  stony 
  ground 
  to 
  produce 
  the 
  deep 
  scars 
  about 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  shell. 
  If 
  such 
  were 
  the 
  

   case, 
  the 
  reptile 
  being 
  full-grown 
  when 
  the 
  injury 
  was 
  inflicted 
  — 
  the 
  severe 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  

   wound 
  would 
  stunt 
  all 
  subsequent 
  growth 
  — 
  it 
  had 
  lived 
  many 
  years 
  to 
  attain 
  its 
  size, 
  then 
  

   possessed 
  the 
  tenacity 
  to 
  recover 
  from 
  the 
  woimd 
  and 
  afterward 
  continued 
  to 
  Uve 
  for 
  nearly 
  

   forty 
  years 
  after. 
  It 
  may 
  interest 
  the 
  reader 
  to 
  know 
  that 
  this 
  turtle 
  is, 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  writing, 
  

   [1907], 
  thri\'ing 
  in 
  captivity." 
  

  

  Numbers. 
  — 
  This 
  turtle 
  is 
  not 
  generally 
  abundant 
  throughout 
  New 
  England. 
  Storer 
  

   says 
  it 
  is 
  "pretty 
  widely 
  distributed" 
  throughout 
  Massachusetts. 
  In 
  certain 
  portions 
  of 
  

   Plymouth 
  County 
  it 
  is 
  really 
  common. 
  Drowne 
  says 
  it 
  is 
  "uncommon 
  in 
  Rhode 
  Island," 
  

   and 
  Huse 
  remarks 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  seen 
  but 
  one 
  New 
  Hampshire 
  specimen 
  (at 
  Pelham). 
  It 
  is 
  

   reported 
  as 
  most 
  abundant 
  in 
  New 
  Jersey. 
  

  

  Habitat. 
  — 
  It 
  is 
  mainly 
  terrestrial, 
  inhabiting 
  dry 
  woods 
  and 
  bushy 
  pastures. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  

   known 
  to 
  ascend 
  to 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  several 
  thousand 
  feet 
  in 
  mountainous 
  country, 
  as 
  high 
  probably 
  

   as 
  any 
  other 
  of 
  oxu" 
  Chelonians 
  (Taylor). 
  

  

  Breeding 
  Habits. 
  — 
  The 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  Box 
  Tortoise 
  are 
  often 
  found 
  in 
  cultivated 
  fields 
  buried 
  

   in 
  the 
  soft 
  earth 
  during 
  June 
  and*July. 
  In 
  shape 
  they 
  are 
  oval, 
  possessing 
  a 
  thin 
  and 
  brittle 
  

   shell. 
  They 
  measure 
  (average) 
  35 
  X 
  20 
  nun. 
  

  

  Rosenberger 
  (1916), 
  observing 
  the 
  breeding 
  habits 
  of 
  captive 
  animals, 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  

  

  