COPEIA 75 



(Terrapene Carolina), were on land in the woods 

 bordering the bank of Crosswicks Creek below Cross- 

 wicks, Burlington County, May 9, 1915. I noted 

 particularly that the plastrons of both were decidedly 

 concave and to the same degree. The Wood Turtles 

 (Clemmys insculpta), were resting on the bottom of 

 a little brook in the Washington Valley above North 

 Plainfield, Somerset County, May 14, 1916. The 

 brook at that point flows through open fields more 

 or less bushy. The turtles made off when disturbed, 

 one going up stream and one down. 



Egg-Laying of a Painted Turtle. On July 4, 

 1916, a I found a Chry semis picta at Runyon, Mid- 

 dlesex County, just within the f rings of short grass, 

 Arenaria, etc., on the far side (from the pond) of 

 an open space in the woods on the north side. She 

 had dug a hole at least four inches deep (perhaps 

 much more), and was laying eggs. I saw her lay 

 three, at brief intervals. She would poke each one 

 down among the others and pack it in with one or 

 the other hind foot. After laying the last, she shov- 

 eled the sand back over them with her hind feet 

 (which, normally so far apart, were brought to meet 

 and even overlap), stamping and pushing it down, 

 awkwardly, but so painstakingly and efficiently that 

 when she had finished the spot was indistinguishable. 

 The hole was less wide than deep, and the top eggs 

 were under about an inch or two of sand. During 

 the whole operation, the turtle's head (about half 

 out), and body remained practically motionless, and 

 I believe that she never saw her eggs, unless while I 

 was away briefly she turned around expressly to look 

 at them. All I have described (took place between 

 five and six in the afternoon), she did while I stood 

 close over her where she must have seen me. The 

 animal had come about 120 yards from the pond, first 

 through dense bushy growth (Chamaedaphne , etc.), 

 then all the way across the open space where her 

 track, fairly straight, was plainly visible. After cov- 



