"OUT OF THE DEPTHS." 221 



borhood of the lakes in the spring-time on sunshiny days, 

 as then, like the soft-shell, it leaves the water and travels 

 up to the soft sand to lay its eggs. 



This turtle, as usually found, weighs from six to ten 

 pounds, and Avhile not quite as rich in flavor as its home- 

 lier brother is still an excellent article of food. 



It is no uncommon thing, when plowing or walking in a 

 field in the late spring, to turn up a queer little yellow 

 and black object, no bigger than a silver quarter or half- 

 dollar, which is a young hard-shell turtle, recently hatched ; 

 they are pretty creatures, and their markings as clearly 

 defined as those of the adults. They are readily domesti- 

 cated, so that they will eat from the hand without fear. 

 Six years ago the writer packed one of these tiny turtles 

 in a tin box with damp moss and sent it North, where it 

 still flourishes in a New Jersey aquarium, very little larger 

 than when it was picked up in the Florida sands, the 

 growth of a turtle being very slow. Water turtle should 

 be killed at once, unless there is water to keep them in, as 

 they can not live more than a day or two out of their na- 

 tive element. In this they are unlike the gopher tortoise, 

 which is all the better for being kept three or four days in 

 a box or barrel. 



There is one very odd quality possessed by the flesh of 

 these several kinds of turtle (including the gopher) in 

 common with the great sea-turtle that are so abundant all 

 alon^: the twelve hundred miles of Florida's sea-coast. 



This curious quality was thus described in the year 1682 

 by one "T. A., Clerk on board His Majesty's ship, the 

 Richmond " : 



" This I am assured of," says he, " that after it is cut to 

 pieces, it retains a sensation of life three times longer than 

 any known creature of the creation. Completely, six 

 hours after the butcher has cut them up and into pieces, 



