1000 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



coming his way, he will sally forth along the bottom of 

 the muddy pond or sluggish stream in which he lives 

 and capture such forms as he can. He has a wonderful 

 control over the muscles of the neck and the lightning- 

 like protrusion of the latter. Look out for your fingers 

 and face while handling a big, healthy one; for not only 

 can he thrust his head and neck forward in a straight 

 line, but to either side and backwards over his shell as 

 well. Indeed, the only safe way to pick one of these 

 fellows up is 

 in the same 

 m anner that 

 we pick up a 

 skunk by the 

 tail, though not, 

 as we know, 

 for the same 

 reason. 



There is a 

 very great dif- 

 ference in the 

 temp erament 

 of these turtles. 

 Some of them 

 become gentle 

 in captivity and 

 attached to 

 their keepers, 

 taking food 

 from their 

 hands and ex- 

 hibiting o t her 

 e v i d ences of 

 f am i 1 i a rity. 

 Upon the other 

 hand, other 

 s p e cimens re- 

 main as ugly 

 and as vicious 

 as those in na- 

 ture, and will 

 snap at any- 

 thing or any- 

 body within 

 reach. They 

 only feed under 

 water; and 

 many die in 

 captivity for 

 the reason that 

 this imperative 

 demand is either unknown to those who undertake to 

 rear them, or it is otherwise ignored. 



Their breeding habits are pretty well known, for their 

 eggs have been discovered many times. In New England, 

 along in May, the female becomes restless and eager 

 to deposit her clutch of round, white eggs, that have 

 thin, tough shells ; she rarely goes further than fifty feet 



from the stream or pond that is her home, usually 

 much less. Having found a soft spot to her liking, she 

 settles down in it by using her feet, trowel-fashion, upon 

 either side of her. As she disappears by the earth clos- 

 ing in over her shell, she soon gets far enough out of 

 sight to answer her purpose ; and when so situated she 

 lays her entire clutch of eggs, often to the number of a 

 couple of dozen. Then, by a gentle, swaying move- 

 ment, she works her way to the surface again, and in 



doing so, the 

 loose earth 

 falls back over 

 the eggs, en- 

 tirely covering 

 them. In due 

 course the eggs 

 all hatch out, 

 as do the eggs 

 of other rep- 

 tiles under 

 similar condi- 

 tions. W h e n 

 fi r s t hatched 

 out, the young 

 turtles are very 

 dark colored 

 and wonderful- 

 ly cute little 

 fellows, being 

 frequently kept 

 in aquaria, 

 where they are, 

 however, rath- 

 er d a n gerous 

 a d d i tions on 

 account of their 

 fondness for 

 feeding on the 

 other inhabi- 

 tants. Up 'on 

 hatching out, it 

 would be inter- 

 esting to know 

 how these little 

 chelonian tots 

 find their way 

 to their native 

 e 1 e m ent, for 

 their size, 

 strength, and 

 range of vision 

 are all apparently totally inadequate to the accomplish- 

 ment of such a feat. In some situations, a heavy fall 

 of rain would probably help them out through the flood 

 or overflow that would naturally take place, thus widely 

 extending the usual limitations of the pond or stream 

 wherein reside the parents of the otherwise helpless 

 little crew. 



Fig. 9. THIS IS THE SAME SNAPPER WHICH IS SHOWN IN A PREVIOUS ILLUSTRATION 

 (Fig. 8). THE SHELL IS COMPARATIVELY VERY SMOOTH AT THIS AGE, AND ITS HORNY 

 PLATES ARE WELL DEFINED. 



It is interesting to note the way in which the head sags down far below the anterior margin of the 

 carapace, when the animal is resting in this position. The generic name of this species, Chelydra 

 (Kel-i-dra) is from the Greek, it having, in ancient time, been applied to a kind of tortoise or amphibious 

 serpent; the specific name, serpentina, refers to its habit of thrusting its head and neck forward like a 

 serpent when striking. 



