264 RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



that tliis turtle is more diurnal in its habits than any of the 

 others. Whether this fact and that of the bright colora- 

 tion of its shell have any connection, must be decided by 

 each one for himself. My own conviction is, that they 

 are closely related. 



The large red-bellied turtle, which formerly was the 

 most abundant of all our aquatic species, has of late 

 proved to be quite rare. In quiet ponds and sluggish 

 creeks, if shaded by heavy growths of timber, nothing was 

 more common than to see scores of these black-backed 

 turtles, perched upon every projecting stump and floating 

 fragment of wood. Here, apparently, the live-long day 

 they would quietly rest, never, as it seemed to me, volun- 

 arily returning to the muddy depths from which they 

 had come. They were ever on the alert, however, and 

 although I often approached them carefully, yet they 

 always knew of my coming, and with a gentle gliding 

 motion they passed so quietly into the water that scarce- 

 ly a ripple was caused by the movement. In midsum- 

 mer they remained on their floating perches far into the 

 night, and I often wondered when they sought their 

 food if, indeed, they ever did anything but float about 

 lonesome waters on rotten logs, or pass their time in 

 quiet contemplation, perched upon every convenient pro- 

 jecting stump. 



These were the thoughts of thirty years ago, but since 

 then I have had too few opportunities to study them 

 more closely. 



De Kay says of them, " They are brought to our mar- 

 kets New York city from New Jersey, where they are 

 very numerous in running streams. As an article of food 

 they are equally prized with the preceding" (rough- 

 backed terrapin). Probably the fact that they are so 



