CROCODILES AND SNAKES 
271 
in the reptiles, we have another example of the webbed and paddle¬ 
like feet, which are met with so often in the mammals and the birds. 
Turtles. —None of the tortoises, however, are such strictly 
water-loving animals as the turtles, which very seldom come upon 
shore, excepting for the purpose of laying their eggs. Their limbs, 
therefore, are very large and broad, and, as you may see by the illustra¬ 
tions, form most excellent paddles, by which the body can be driven 
through the water. 
All the turtles, nevertheless, even though their limbs are so 
greatly altered in form, have the toes armed with strong claws, which 
tear up the ground if required just as do those of the tortoise. But 
for these claws turtles would altogether vanish from the earth in the 
course of a few years, for their eggs are very delicate in flavor, and are 
a favorite food of many animals. Nature, however, has given to the 
mother turtle an instinct which warns her of this danger to her family, 
and so she buries her eggs deeply beneath the sand, in order that the 
enemies may not be able to find them. 
But, in digging, the claws are not her only tools. They serve to 
loosen and tear up the sand, it is true, but they cannot, of course, lift 
it up out of the hole, and so would not be of very much use by them¬ 
selves. After loosening the sand the turtle passes her hind flippers 
beneath it, and then, resting upon the fore parts of her body, raises 
them with a sudden jerk. The consequence is that the loose sand is 
thrown out of the hole to a distance of several feet, and the process 
is repeated until she has dug to the depth of about eighteen inches. 
At the bottom are placed the eggs, arranged upon one another in 
regular rows, and lastly the loose sand is replaced with such care by 
the flippers, that the surface is again made so flat and smooth that 
no one who had not seen the turtle at work would know that she had 
been digging at all. 
Among the turtles we will mention only the green or edible turtle 
which is very good for food and for that reason is eagerly hunted. 
They are caught on the shore by being upset and turned over on their 
backs, and this is usually done with stout poles, as well as with the 
help of the shoulder, and several men may have to join in doing this 
to a large individual. The turtles are rarely able to turn back again, 
