262 RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



dampness of melted snows and spring rains, this species 

 is found wending its way to the upland fields, in search 

 of suitable places for depositing its eggs. That the same 

 spots are frequented, year after year, is not probable. I 

 have often marked turtles that I have found in May, in 

 sandy fields, in hopes that at the same time in succeeding 

 years I might again see them ; but in no instance have I 

 been successful. "While these animals remain in the same 

 pond or creek throughout their lives, as I have proved 

 by many experiments, it would seem that, unlike many 

 birds, they seldom, or only by chance, deposit their eggs 

 in the same place. The distance from water of the locali- 

 ties chosen for ovipositing varies greatly, and this would 

 seem to indicate that great care is exercised in choosing 

 the site for this purpose. Often I have found these tur- 

 tles wandering over hot, dusty fields, that had been re- 

 cently plowed, where every square foot for acres seemed 

 well suited to their purpose ; and still on they went into 

 apparently less favorable fields, where they halted, per- 

 haps half a mile from water. It is proper, however, to 

 add that I have never found their eggs at a greater dis- 

 tance than this from the streams or ponds which the 

 species frequents during the summer. 



To what extent these turtles are active, and how they 

 pass their time when in the water, I am not prepared to 

 say ; but on bright days they are fond of basking in the 

 noon-day sun, and, in company with the larger red-bellied 

 turtles, they are often found resting on a floating log, or 

 perched upon a projecting stump. At such times they 

 are quick to scent danger, or hear it, and when ap- 

 proached they promptly slide from the log or stump 

 into the depths below. Their eyes and ears are then 

 depended upon ; " the sense of seeing," according to 

 Professor Agassiz, "and particularly that of hearing, 



