106 REPTILIAN "WATER TRESPASSERS. 



tear away the piece which was grasped in their jaws. 

 They would repeat the process until the whole of the 

 meat was swallowed. 



One of them was a special favourite of mine, and 

 when it died I preserved it after the manner taught me 

 by the late Charles Waterton, and the effigies of the 

 little creature is on my book as I write,, in the exact 

 attitude which it assumed when it expected food from 

 me. It used to stretch its neck to the fullest extent, 

 and rather on one side, with a curiously pleading ex- 

 pression in a creature which looks almost passionless. 

 The beautiful colouring of bright yellow streaks on 

 dark brown that adorned its head, neck, and limbs, 

 has almost totally vanished, but the attitude is exactly 

 the same as that which it so often assumed during life, 

 and which, unless damaged by very rough usage, it 

 will retain for years after the hand that preserved it 

 has passed from off the earth. 



I am told that some of the larger species of the 

 same genus, Emys, attack fish, by coming quietly 

 beneath them as they are sleeping, and then taking 

 a bite out of the lower part of the body. I can 

 well believe this to be the case, having personally 

 known instances where even the little chicken- 

 tortoise has killed numbers of gold-fish in this very 

 way. 



Two species of Terrapin are shown in Cut 5. 



Occupying the lower part of the illustration is the 

 great Alligator Terrapin (Ohelydra Serpentina), to which 

 allusion has already been made. The name Chelydra, 

 by the way, is composed of two Greek words, and sig- 

 nifies water- tortoise. The name Serpentina, or snake- 



