194 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



if any there be, has passed. Then, as leis- 

 urely and dignifiedly as he withdrew from 

 impending harm, he returns to his previous 

 occupation. 



The truth of the matter is the turtle has 

 nothing to fear. Nature has provided him 

 with so excellent a coat of armor that he 

 needs no weapons. The bones of his back 

 and ribs have grown wider and smoother 

 and have united to plates formed in his skin. 

 These the animal has knit together so firmly 

 as to make a stronghold into which he can 

 most securely retreat. This box, being 

 made of bone, is of course white. It is 

 covered with a series of thin sheets of sub- 

 stance not unlike our finger-nails. It is 

 this material from certain large marine 

 turtles that forms what is known as tor- 

 toise-shell, from which so many beautiful 

 and useful articles are made. 



HOW THE TORTOISE PROTECTS HIMSELF 



Our common land-living box-tortoise is 

 the best-protected member of his tribe. Not 

 only can he, like all the rest of his friends, 



