H4 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



is apt to be sluggish. Like the toads, he 

 has ability in self-effacement, and can stay 

 lost by the quarter-hour in our few square 

 feet of yard. The youngsters have named 

 him Plato the same being the name they 

 called the others by, though one had been 

 discovered to contain eggs. Why Plato, 

 more than James Q. Smith, I do not know, 

 unless it be for the gravity of the creature 

 and the inscrutability of his wisdom. 



The carpenter's dog is surprised and 

 interested when Plato toddles across the 

 yard. This dog climbs upon a lumber-pile 

 to view the proceedings and bark his opin- 

 ions. But the turtle does not mind. He 

 travels about in his uncouth fashion, get- 

 ting his meals; and after acquiring nutri- 

 ment he likes to cover himself with an old 

 sod at the back of the yard, where the sun 

 shines warm. He will remain there, mo- 

 tionless, for hours; and wherever he may 

 be carried, he will amble back to his sod 

 at once. On being taken up, he hisses and 

 retires promptly within his shell ; though 

 if put on the ground he will try to walk 

 away, even when one is holding him. If 



