TURTLE EGGS FOR AGASSIZ 



99 



Only old age does that ; and old age would never 

 have got those turtle eggs to Agassiz. 



"It was in the early spring that Agassiz came to 

 the academy, long before there was any likelihood 

 of the turtles' laying. But I was eager for the quest, 

 and so fearful of failure that I started out to watch 

 at the pond, fully two weeks ahead of the time that 

 the turtles might be expected to lay. I remember 

 the date clearly: it was May 14th. 



"A little before dawn along near three o'clock 

 I would drive over to the pond, hitch my horse 

 near by, settle myself quietly among some thick 

 cedars close to the sandy shore, and there I would 

 wait, my kettle of sand ready, my eye covering the 

 whole sleeping pond. Here among the cedars I would 

 eat my breakfast, and then get back in good season 

 to open the academy for the morning session. 



" And so the watch began. 



"I soon came to know individually the dozen or 

 more turtles that kept to my side of the pond. 

 Shortly after the cold mist would lift and melt away, 

 they would stick up their heads through the quiet 

 water; and as the sun slanted down over the ragged 

 rim of tree-tops, the slow things would float into the 

 warm lighted spots, or crawl out and doze comfort- 

 ably on the hummocks and snags. 



" What fragrant mornings those were ! How fresh 

 and new and unbreathed ! The pond odors, the 

 woods odors, the odors of the ploughed fields of 



