TURTLE TRAITS 



A TURTLE, waddling his solitary way along 

 some watercourse, attracts little attention 

 apart from that aroused by his clumsy, grotesque 

 shape; yet few who look upon him are able to 

 give offhand even a bare half-dozen facts about 

 the humble creature. Could they give any infor- 

 mation at all, it would probably be limited to two 

 or three usages to which his body is put — such as 

 soup, mandolin picks, and combs. 



In the northeastern part of our own country we 

 may look for no fewer than eight species of turtles 

 which are semi-aquatic, living in or near ponds 

 and streams, while another, the well-known box 

 tortoise, confines its travels to the uplands and 

 woods. 



There are altogether about two hundred differ- 

 ent kinds of turtles, and they live in all except 

 the very cold countries of the world. Australia 

 has the fewest and North and Central America 

 the greatest number of species. Evolutionists 

 can tell us little or nothing of the- origin of these 

 creatures, for as far back in geological ages as 

 they are found fossil (a matter of a little over ten 

 million years), all are true turtles, not half turtles 

 and half something else. Crocodiles and alliga- 

 tors, with their hard leathery coats, come as near 



128 



