TURTLES, TERRAPINS, AND TORTOISES 21 



Mr. Hugh Smith has given an interesting account of the 

 breeding habits of this species. The egg-laying season, it 

 appears, is in June and July, and the eggs are laid in some 

 cultivated tract, usually a cornfield adjoining water, the 

 nests being made some distance aw^ay from the water, 

 sometimes more than a hundred feet. The nest, which 

 is shaped like a bottle, is made usually in a sandy clay, 

 above high-water mark, the hole being dug out by the 

 female with her fore-legs. The size of the nest depends 

 on the size of the animal, an average nest being four inches 

 deep and four inches wide. The eggs, up to thirty-five in 

 number, are laid at one time, and when the laying is 

 completed, earth is scraped into and over the hole and 

 packed lightly. The packing is accomplished by the 

 terrapin raising herself as high as possible on her hind 

 legs, and then dropping heavily. As soon as the nest is 

 covered over the terrapin withdraws to the water. If a 

 terrapin is disturbed while making a nest or laying, she 

 will abandon the nest. The young hatch in the autumn, 

 but remain in the nest, where they hibernate until the 

 following spring. On emerging they are about the size 

 of a two-shilling piece. This terrapin formerly supported a 

 profitable fishing industry, but of late years has become 

 rather scarce, those caught being accidentally taken in 

 fishing nets. 



The Painted Terrapin, C. picta, is perhaps the most 

 attractive representative of the genus. The carapace is 

 dark olive or blackish, with often a yellow vertebral stripe, 

 while the marginal shields are scarlet ; the yellow bands 

 of the neck usually form three forks, one in the middle, 

 with the base on the chin, and one on each side, the upper 



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