FRESH- WATER TURTLES. 17 



enter the box through the cylinder of netting and are thereby saved from 

 drowning, which would ensue if they could not reach tlie air. They may lie 

 removed througli the lid at the convenience of the collector. 



SHIPMENT. 



In the upper Mississippi and in some of the glacial lakes in the 

 northern part of our country the soft-shell is exceedingly abundant 

 and if made use of would offer a considerable amount of meat to the 

 inhabitants of those regions. The market men say that it can be 

 beheaded and rough cleaned — that is, with just the viscera removed — 

 and shipped on ice. In this condition it keeps as well as fish similarly 

 treated. Frozen, they say, it remains in perfect condition and is as 

 good when thawed as when fresh. Handled in this manner, it could, 

 if there were a sufficient demand, furnish a considerable meat supply 

 to a large area. 



Taking the country at large, the turtles are much more scarce than 

 formerly. From along the upper Illinois River comes the complaint 

 that the turtles, especially appreciated there, are " becoming very 

 scarce " or " practically exterminated " and that the local market de- 

 mand is greater than the supply. This exhaustion is attributed to 

 the draining of the feeding areas of the turtles and the building of 

 levees. The State law of Illinois protects both turtles and terrapin 

 of any size under a T-inch shell. All that has saved the turtle to this 

 day is probably the fact that it has remained more or less unap- 

 preciated. 



ENEMIES OF TURTLES. 



In spite of the various means with which nature has endowed the 

 turtles for their welfare — the protecting shell of all of them; the 

 timid disposition of the terrapin, which prevents them from wander- 

 ing afar from safety and causes them to drop into the water at the 

 first sign of alarm ; the inconspicuous colors of most of them ; the 

 timidity and swiftness of the soft-shells; and the longevity of such 

 as have passed the vicissitudes of early life — they are subject to many 

 dangers and, on the whole, seem to be scarcely holding their own. 

 A good many young apiDear to perish during the first winter. Musk- 

 rats kill a few of the smaller species, but do not appear to molest 

 those of larger size. Leeches often accumulate on turtles in con- 

 siderable numbers, and, though they may never directly kill them, 

 they doubtless greatly lessen their vitality. In the Japanese breeding 

 establishments old _ turtles devour their young, and this may oc- 

 casionally happen in nature. Doubtless carnivorous animals often 

 dig up the nests and devour the eggs, as one often finds eggs scattered 

 about and evidence of digging where the turtles make their nests. 



By far one of the most important enemies is man. Fishermen 

 finding turtles in their nets or on hooks often kill and discard them, 

 instead of either releasing or using them. Many persons make it 

 a practice to rob turtle nests by the wholesale, either for so-called 

 sport or to use their eggs for fish bait. By digging into the sand 

 bars used for nesting places hundreds of eggs can be taken and de- 

 stroyed in a short time. Many turtles, especially soft-shells, are 

 drowned in hoop nets used by fishermen. 



