^ REPTILES. 137 



were thirty-three eggs scattered irregularly in a double layer. On 

 the whole it was a decidedly untidy and i)riniitive sort of nest. 



"At about the same time of the month (June 15) several half- 

 finished nests were found in the same railway embankment and all 

 had the same general characteristics as the one described. I am 

 told by the engineers on the railroad that the females are often 

 seen at work and that they leave precipitately on the approach of 

 the earlv train. 



''The eggs are spherical with one hemisphere white and the other 

 pinkish. The shell is very tough, so that the eggs, if thrown on 

 hard ground, will rebound several inches without breaking. The 

 eggs laid on June fifteenth hatched during the last week in 

 August." 



The flesh of the snapping turtle is usually esteemed as food, by 

 the people in localities where the species is found. True (1893, 

 154) states that "The snapping turtle is regularly seen in spring in 

 the markets of Washington, dressed for cooking, that is, having the 

 under part of the shell and the entrails removed." The eggs are 

 also often eaten. 



Range: The species has been reported from: Michigan (Sager, 

 1839, 301; Miles, 1861, 232), Ann Arbor (Smith, 1879, 7), Hudson 

 and St. Joseph River (Kirsch, 1895, 333), Eaton County (Clark, 

 1902, 193), Ann Arbor, Olivet, and Barry, Kalamazoo, Kent, Mont- 

 calm, Ottawa, St. Joseph and Van Buren Counties (Clark, 1905, 

 110), Walnut Lake, Oakland County (Hankinson, 1908, 236), Huron 

 County (Ruthven, 1911a, 271), and Cass Countj^ (Thompson, 1911, 

 107). 



Specimens have been examined from Washtenaw County, 

 Oakland County, Brown Lake and the falls of the Sturgeon, Dick- 

 inson County, Alma, Gratiot County, Charity Islands, Saginaw 

 Ba}, Cass County, in Turtle Bay (Sand Point) and in lower part 

 of Pigeon River in Huron Countv, and Kalamazoo Countv. 



KINOSTERNON ODORATUM (Daudin). 



MUSK TURTLE. 

 (PI. VII.) 



Emys pemhsylvanica, Sager, 1859, 301. 



Aromochehjs odoratus, Smith, 1879, 7. Clark, 1902, 193, 1905, 110. 



Miles, 1861, 232. Hankinson, 1908, 236. Thompson, 1911, 



107. 



Description: Carapace rigid, covered with horny plates, rather 



