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turtles they readily become the prey of nearly all carnivorous crea- 

 tures, including serpents and fishes. Perhaps no form of animal 

 living in this State has so little chance to escape or has greater 

 numbers of natural enemies than the young turtle. However, after 

 they become mature and are well protected, they may live for 

 scores of years, or even a century. 



Protection: — Mr. R. F. Baker, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., gave the 

 writer a young Wood Turtle (C. insculptus), about two inches in 

 diameter, which he took from the stomach of a large mouthed black 

 bass in a stream in Cumberland county, June, 1908. Mr. Wehrle 

 in his publication records having seen an otter bring a turtle 

 from the depths of the water where it was hibernating in the winter 

 and kill it by eating its head. Turtles are frequently attacked by 

 leeches, or bloodsuckers, which in fact are nearly always found at- 

 tached to turtles of certain species. 



The plow and harrow are effective in injuring many specimens of 

 the Common .Box Turtle. Also defects are often seen in the backs 

 of the shells of this species, and holes in the hinder margin of the 

 shells tell the story of their having been cruelly used for the purpose 

 of driving rabbits or other small mammals from their burrows in 

 the ground. Sometimes a hole is made in the shell, a short wire 

 attached thereto and some burning substance fastened to the wire 

 and the turtle made to crawl into the hole. The fire keeps the 

 reptile moving forward and when the depths of the burrow are 

 reached the rabbit or other mammal is driven out in terror. The 

 poor turtle may, of course, be badly burned, but this does not appear 

 to count in the minds of many thoughtless persons. It would be 

 well for the practice to be strictly prohibited. There is also an 

 absurd notion that to build a fire on the back or shell of a turtle 

 will cause the animal to crawl out of its shell. These practices 

 account for some of the injuries which later and permanently result 

 in defective shells on the backs of living creatures. 



It is always interesting to study the manner of natural protection 

 of any animal or group of animals. Turtles are protected, first, 

 while in the egg state, by being buried in the sand, or loose earth, 

 and when young by being so slow or inactive as to escape observa- 

 tion such as would be drawn by quickly-moving creatures, and also 

 by their dull hues or colors, which render them the same color as 

 the mud or damp earth on which they live. Also, all species of 

 turtles are able to swim, and some swim with }\\e rapidity of a 

 fish, dart quickly, and are able to escape by plunging into the 

 water, and either swimming away or stirring up the mud, thus 

 rendering them invisible. The Common Soft-shelled Turtle takes 



