THE YOUNG 
I did not dare approach him, he being so 
watchful and quick in his motions. At 
last I bethought me to cover him over 
with sod and stones ; this took me some 
time to accomplish. Then taking off my 
suspenders, and making a slip noose at 
the end of them, I proceeded to dig down 
through the sod till I reached one of his 
hind legs, to which I secured the sus- 
penders, by which I dragged him to the 
nearest farmhouse, when I fastened him 
in a large box, and arranged with the 
farmer to deliver him to me next day. 
When he was placed in the pond he 
took immediate possession of the island, 
retnaining there all the season. To pre- 
vent his foraging on the inhabitants of the 
pond I fed him bountifully on raw beef, 
with now and then a fish or dead frog, 
also the stems of water lilies, of which he 
seemed very fond ; still I think he never 
felt happy, as he had a way of making a 
subdued and smothered bellowing noise, 
as if calling for his mate. From this 
swamp I stocked my pond with hundreds 
of frogs, lizards, aquatic insects, and their 
larvae. 
The young of the snapping turtle, if 
very small, is one of the most interesting 
of all the reptiles for an aquarium, but he 
must be fed regularly and hountifulhj. In 
course of time he will learn to feed from 
your hand, and will allow you to take him 
out of the water and handle him. I have 
had them so tame that they w^ould sit in 
the palm of my hand and feed, tearing 
the food in pieces with their sharp claws. 
When young the shell is very soft, but in 
a few months begins to harden. 
The female snapx^ing turtle deposits her 
eggs about the latter part of May, some 
distance from the shore, w^here she digs a 
deep hole in the sand or loose earth Avith 
her powerful fore feet. All the eggs are 
deposited at one laying, and are covered 
over wath loose earth, dry leaves, and 
grass, and are left to hatch out as best 
they can. Skunks and weasels are par- 
ticularly fond of turtle eggs, and devour 
large quantities of them. The young take 
to the shallow water as soon as free from 
the egg, feeding on aquatic insects and 
larvae, to which they are very partial. 
Prof. Agassiz says, in his " Contribution 
SCIENTIST. 79 
to the Natural History of the United 
States": "The snapping turtle exhibits 
its ferocious nature even before it leaves 
the egg ; before it breathes through lungs ; 
before its derm is ossified to form a bony 
shield; nay, it snaps with its gaping 
jaws at anything brought near. Though 
it be still surrounded with amnion and 
allantois, and the yolk still exceeds in 
bulk its whole body, I have seen it snap- 
ping in the same fierce manner as it does 
when full grown, at a time when it was a 
pale, almost colorless embryo, wrapped in 
its foetal envelope— three months before 
hatching." 
The snapper is a long-lived animal, their 
growth continuing during the entire pe- 
riod of their existence. Snapping turtles 
used to be quite plentiful, but are now be- 
coming more scarce every year, from the 
fact that large numbers of the young are 
taken every year by collectors for aquaria. 
And the large-sized ones are sold to fish 
dealers, from whom they are purchased 
for the purpose of making "terrapin 
soup." 
Next to a snapping turtle, for an aqua- 
rium, is the beautiful " painted turtle " 
(Chrysemijs picta), which is still abundant 
in all ponds and ditches. It has none of the 
ferocious nature of the snapper, but is of a 
mild and timid nature, easily petted, very 
active and inquisitive, and an excellent 
swimmer. I have had them so tame that 
they would come to be fed at my call, 
allowing me to handle them freely, and 
seeming to be delighted when I gave them 
a hot sun bath. The name of painted tor- 
toise is derived from the fact of its shell 
being ornamented with such rich and in- 
tense contrasts of color. The margins of 
the under shell and legs being loaded 
with a deep rich vermilion color and olive 
brown. Its head having bright yellow 
markings along the sides, and the plates 
of the upper shell being slightly margined 
with a dull yellow. This and the young 
of the snapper are the only two kinds of 
turtle that I can recommend for fresh- 
water aquaria, but they must always be 
very small. All dealers keep them in 
stock. The spotted or mud turtle, and 
musk or stinking turtle are inactive, and, 
refusing food, soon die. When turtles are 
