﻿416 
  BABCOCK: 
  NEW 
  ENGLAND 
  TURTLES. 
  

  

  the 
  rear 
  tortoise 
  gazing 
  ahead 
  in 
  a 
  puzzled, 
  undecided 
  quandary. 
  It 
  finally 
  turned 
  and 
  came 
  

   directly 
  by 
  the 
  writer, 
  while 
  passing 
  about 
  3 
  feet 
  to 
  one 
  side. 
  I 
  talked 
  loudly, 
  whistled 
  and 
  

   sought 
  to 
  arrest 
  its 
  attention 
  by 
  mouth, 
  while 
  remaining 
  perfectly 
  motionless, 
  but 
  without 
  

   success. 
  However, 
  the 
  slight 
  raising 
  of 
  one 
  arm 
  caused 
  the 
  head 
  to 
  be 
  drawn 
  suddenly 
  into 
  the 
  

   shell 
  with 
  alarm." 
  

  

  As 
  cold 
  weather 
  approaches 
  this 
  tm-tle 
  prepares 
  to 
  hibernate 
  by 
  slowly 
  and 
  gradually 
  

   biuTowing 
  iato 
  the 
  soft 
  groimd 
  for 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  from 
  three 
  inches 
  to 
  two 
  feet. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  ob- 
  

   served 
  in 
  an 
  active 
  state, 
  however, 
  as 
  late 
  as 
  December 
  21, 
  by 
  J. 
  T. 
  Nichols 
  at 
  Englewood, 
  

   N. 
  J. 
  (Copeia, 
  Feb. 
  14, 
  1914, 
  no. 
  3, 
  p. 
  [4]). 
  

  

  Many 
  individuals 
  leave 
  their 
  winter 
  quarters 
  too 
  early 
  and 
  perish 
  from 
  exposure. 
  

  

  In 
  captivity 
  the 
  Box 
  Tortoise 
  soon 
  becomes 
  tame. 
  I 
  have 
  given 
  specunens 
  the 
  freedom 
  

   of 
  the 
  house 
  and 
  never 
  knew 
  one 
  to 
  snap. 
  As 
  cold 
  weather 
  comes 
  on 
  they 
  refuse 
  to 
  eat, 
  but 
  

   remain 
  inside 
  of 
  round 
  balls 
  of 
  hay 
  which 
  they 
  construct 
  for 
  nests. 
  If 
  not 
  allowed 
  to 
  hibernate 
  

   they 
  often 
  die 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  months. 
  

  

  Yerkes 
  (1904) 
  has 
  used 
  this 
  species 
  (also 
  Chrysemys 
  picta 
  and 
  Clemmys 
  guttata) 
  in 
  a 
  study 
  

   of 
  the 
  question: 
  "What 
  relation 
  do 
  the 
  reactions 
  of 
  tortoises 
  to 
  space 
  bear 
  to 
  their 
  habits?" 
  

   He 
  describes 
  his 
  method 
  of 
  procedure 
  as 
  follows: 
  "My 
  method 
  of 
  experimentation 
  was 
  to 
  

   place 
  a 
  tortoise 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  a 
  board 
  30 
  cm. 
  by 
  60 
  cm. 
  which 
  was 
  elevated 
  30 
  cm., 
  90 
  cm. 
  

   or 
  180 
  cm. 
  above 
  a 
  net 
  of 
  black 
  cloth 
  into 
  which 
  the 
  animal 
  fell 
  when 
  it 
  crawled 
  or 
  plunged 
  over 
  

   the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  board. 
  The 
  fall 
  was 
  thus 
  rendered 
  harmless 
  to 
  the 
  animals, 
  and 
  they 
  gave 
  no 
  

   evidence, 
  but 
  increased 
  hesitancy 
  in 
  crawling 
  off, 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  disagreeable 
  to 
  them. 
  The 
  

   observer 
  carefully 
  noted 
  the 
  behavior 
  of 
  the 
  tortoise 
  while 
  it 
  was 
  on 
  the 
  board, 
  and 
  recorded 
  

   the 
  time 
  that 
  it 
  remained 
  there. 
  It 
  would 
  seem 
  that 
  the 
  time 
  from 
  the 
  noticing 
  of 
  the 
  edge 
  

   of 
  the 
  board 
  till 
  the 
  fall 
  should 
  be 
  recorded 
  rather 
  than 
  the 
  total 
  time 
  spent 
  on 
  the 
  board, 
  but 
  

   as 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  that 
  some 
  species 
  notice 
  the 
  spatial 
  conditions 
  while 
  they 
  are 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  

   of 
  the 
  board, 
  whereas 
  others 
  give 
  no 
  evidence 
  of 
  perception 
  of 
  the 
  height 
  imtil 
  they 
  have 
  reached 
  

   the 
  edge, 
  it 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  record 
  as 
  described. 
  Since 
  in 
  these 
  experiments 
  it 
  

   was 
  necessary 
  that 
  time 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  space 
  should 
  be 
  considered, 
  sixty 
  minutes 
  was 
  fixed 
  as 
  the 
  

   duration 
  of 
  the 
  experiment, 
  and 
  in 
  case 
  the 
  animal 
  remained 
  on 
  the 
  board 
  longer 
  than 
  that 
  

   period 
  the 
  test 
  was 
  recorded 
  as 
  a 
  failure. 
  Failures 
  in 
  this 
  case 
  have 
  positive 
  value, 
  to 
  be 
  sure, 
  

   but 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  give 
  us 
  the 
  acciu-ate 
  measurement 
  of 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  reaction 
  which 
  indefinite 
  

   prolongation 
  of 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  observation 
  would 
  furnish. 
  . 
  . 
  ." 
  

  

  