TURTLE EGGS FOR AGASSIZ 37 



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 like- 

 lihood 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 14. 



" 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 morn- 

 ing 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 treetops, the slow things would 



