138 



gate, elliptical, a little over one inch long, with a hard smooth shell. 

 One which Agassiz kept in confinement laid after June." — (Hay.) 



Our studies of the food of four specimens of this species have 

 given the following facts: 



No. Per Cent. 



Mollusca, 2 50 



Snails, 2 50 



Insecta, 3 75 



Orthoptera, (Crickets, Grasshoppers), 1 25 



Gryllus pennsylvanicus 1 25 



Lepidoptera, (Moths, etc.), 2 50 



Larvae, 2 50 



Coleoptera, (Beetles), 2 50 



Undetermined fragments, 1 25 



Carabidae — Undet., (Ground Beetles), 1 25 



Four specimens of Musk Turtle were found to contain food, of 

 which two had eaten snails of the land-inhabiting species (Genus 

 Helix), and three were found to contain insects. One of these had 

 devoured a common cricket (Gryllus pennsylvanicus), and two had 

 eaten beetles. One of the last-named insects was a Ground Beetle, 

 but was so broken as to be undeterminable to species. 



It is evident that they feed almost wholly upon mollusks and 

 insects, and thus must be recognized as being decidedly beneficial 

 rather than destructive. It will be noted that no fishes or other 

 vertebrate animals were found in the stomachs thus examined. 

 What may be revealed by further studies remains yet to be seen. 



It is interesting to compare these results with the statements 

 Made by other authors, among which are the following: 



^'The food is small fish or smaller reptiles, such as tadpoles." — 

 Holbrook. 



''Food probably mostly or altogether of animal origin." — Hay. 



''Takes fisherman's hook baited with small fish or worms, searches 

 for food at the bottom of rivers or ponds, feeds readily in captivity." 

 — Ditmars. 



It will be seen that this turtle is charged in literature with feed- 

 ing upon vertebrates, and no mention is made of its invertebrate 

 food, excepting indirectly in the statement that "it eats worms on 

 hooks." We are convinced that further study of the Musk Turtle 

 will reveal the fact that these creatures feed far more upon inverte- 

 brates, such as mollusks and insects, than upon vertebrates, and 

 consequently are to be classed as being more beneficial from an 

 economic standpoint than has generally been supposed.- 



