October 1, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



453 



NOTES ON TWO COMMON TURTLES OF EASTERN 

 UNITED STATES 



The speckled tortoise (Clemmys gutla- 

 tus) Schneider is one of the commonest and 

 most conspicuously colored turtles of much of 

 the eastern United States. Its shell or cara- 

 pace is smooth, black, with a sprinkling of 

 round, orange-yellow spots. The plastron is 

 yellowish with darker markings. This pretty 

 turtle is largely aquatic in its habits, but is 

 frequently found wandering among the vege- 

 tation of wet, swampy grounds. This turtle 

 is, without doubt, of considerable economic 

 value, as shown by the published data of its 

 stomach contents determined by the Zoolog- 

 ical Division of the Pennsylvania Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. It is here proved that 

 this turtle is mainly insectivorous in its feed- 

 ing habits, and for this reason deserves to be 

 protected. 



Concerning the food of this species, a num- 

 ber of the early writers state that it captures 

 frogs. There is little doubt but that frogs oc- 

 casionally enter into its diet. I myseK once 

 watched one of these turtles pursue a small 

 frog very actively in a brook at Oxford, Mass. 

 At that time an excellent observer also in- 

 formed me that he saw one of this same 

 species capture a small frog. 



Another interesting turtle is the wood 

 turtle (Clemmys insculptus) LeConte, not in- 

 frequently met with in the eastern states. It 

 is very largely terrestrial in its habits, and 

 may frequently be found wandering through 

 dry woods and fields far from any water. In 

 New England, late in winter and in March, I 

 have captured numbers of these turtles, near 

 Charlton, Mass. In spring and summer it ex- 

 tends its wanderings into the upland fields 

 and woods. During the period of spring fires, 

 I have frequently found this turtle burned to 

 death in dry woods and fields, where it had 

 been overtaken by brush fires. 



Several years ago at Oxford, Mass., I car- 

 ried one of these turtles to a point in a pas- 

 ture near my home, in order to observe some 

 of its feeding habits. Set free, the turtle 

 headed for a dry, rocky pasture, across which 



extended a portion of a steep cliff. It pursued 

 a course directly toward this cliff. I followed 

 cautiously a few feet behind, on my hands and 

 knees, keeping immovable if the turtle turned 

 its gaze toward me. In this manner I spent 

 the entire afternoon observing this turtle, 

 and learned a good deal concerning its food 

 habits. It fed greedily on any mullein leaves 

 (Verhascum thapsus) in its path, and seemed 

 especially fond of common sorrel {Rumex 

 acetosella). It climbed slowly up the grassy 

 banks bordering the cliffs, and finally gained a 

 spot where grew various weeds and shrubs in 

 the loose soil and rock crevices. When several 

 feet away, its keen eye spied some large, red 

 wild strawberries on a certain bank. It was 

 interesting to see how eagerly and hurriedly 

 it scrambled toward these berries. It spent 

 considerable time among them, reaching up 

 and clawing down the plants in order to 

 reach the berries which it raked off awkwardly, 

 together with the leaves, into its jaws. Later, 

 its course led toward a swamp. 



The food of this turtle is largely of vege- 

 table composition, although varied animal 

 matter consisting of insects, molluscs, etc., is 

 eaten, as shown by examinations of its stom- 

 ach contents by the Pennsjdvania Department 

 of Agriculture. Feeding largely as it does on 

 all sorts of vegetable matter — leaves, berries, 

 etc.^t no doubt incidentally includes more 

 or less insects and slugs which may be present 

 at the time, especially on those lower portions 

 of the plant accessible to it. 



I have frequently found females of the wood 

 turtle excavating holes and laying eggs in 

 early summer, in sand beds washed in by over- 

 flows of the Maanixit River at Oxford, Mass., 

 and in the bare, loose sandy soil of more 

 upland situations. 



As a class the habits of our turtles need 

 considerably more attention, in order to make 

 us better acquainted with their economic posi- 

 tion with regard to agriculture. If it is 

 shovm that they are, as a class, beneficial as 

 destroyers of vermin and noxious insects, etc., 

 then they must be considered one of the nat- 

 ural agencies tending to promote agricultural 

 interests just as much as the useful birds and 



