FOREST AND STREAM 
765 
Forest Fire on Cresco Heights, in the Mountains of Pennsylvania. 
Protecting Pennsylvania Forests From Fire 
By J. A. Seguine. 
though some clear portions of the shell, around 
the edges, are still soft. The color of the shell 
gradually changes to that usually seen and the 
head and soft parts are mottled, speckled or of a 
solid color. I have two >n my collection where 
the head and neck are solid yellow. 
I believe it is possible that eggs laid late in 
the summer may hatch out the following spring, 
as I have noticed the small size of the turtles 
coming out to be too small for those that would 
be in their second summer. 
As to the date of hibernation it is usually late 
in October. I usually dig the soil up, make it 
loose so that they can bury, and then when they 
find their place, cover them over with dry leaves, 
and with an old carpet or canvas thrown on top 
of these. The depth they go down is not deep 
and in the spring when they peep out of their 
holes, if the leaves are scraped off, the depres¬ 
sion in which they have been passing the winter, 
is just the depth of the animal. That is, the 
hole or depression is not more than three inches 
in depth. 
If any one “places” the turtles in soft earth in 
the fall for their winter sleep, care should be 
taken to have the “heads up” as I have noticed 
many a time when turtles did not come up in 
the spring, that, digging around the place, I 
would come across the empty shell or putrefy¬ 
ing remains “heads down.” 
Some seasons when the weather has been very 
moderate, even after they have been buried, I 
have known the turtles to come out even in No¬ 
vember. 
As a rule, they emerge in April, sometimes the 
middle of the month, but as early as April 6th 
they made their appearance. If the weather 
does not stay warm they again go back to then 
retreats. 
Mating commences almost within a day or two 
after their emergence. The males are quite per¬ 
sistent in their love making, biting at the female, 
etc., and on two occasions I have seen the scale 
removed from the shell of the female and blood 
ooze from these surfaces. 
It is interesting to see the males fight among 
themselves. They raise themselves as high as 
possible, and lunge and bite and snap at each 
other. In getting away from his opponent, the 
beaten one will beat a hasty retreat, and retract 
his front feet or back feet as occasion demands 
and “glide,” not run away. Running away is 
slow as compared to this turtle propulsion. It is 
not a slide, it is really a darting, forward glide. 
Just recently (1915) I saw one male, maltreat¬ 
ing another in which the second fellow had all 
parts retracted, and was being snapped at, pushed 
and actually rolled over on his back by his oppo¬ 
nent. 
I have never known a land turtle to bite, but 
have often seen them open their mouths wide 
and hiss or draw in their breath with a hissing 
or sighing sound. 
Some people have turtles in their cellars, be¬ 
lieving that they catch rats and mice. I tried 
keeping some of mine in the cellar for two sea¬ 
sons, in the winter time. They kept up a con¬ 
stant walk, exactly like a caged beast. I gave 
them meat, vegetables and water, but on no oc¬ 
casion did they take the proffered food. In the 
spring, I found several of them dead. I be- 
Editor Forest and Stream : 
The November Forest and Stream is unusu¬ 
ally interesting. 
Here in the Pocono Mountains, the hunters’ 
and fishermen’s paradise, is a little Association 
formed nearly thirteen years ago by a few men 
for the sole purpose of protecting the forests 
from the ravages of fires. 
It is only now beginning to get that support 
from the public, which, had it been received ten 
years ago, a different story might be told to¬ 
day. This association is the Pocono Protective 
Fire Association of Monroe County. 
The president is W. A. Hoopes, Pocono Man¬ 
or; the secretary is Dr. Wm. R. Fisher, Swift- 
water. 
There are now two hundred and twelve mem¬ 
bers, which shows a rapid growth from the 
membership of thirty, three years ago. 
The enclosed card was sent to me by the secre¬ 
tary in September. It shows a forest fire in 
the mountains above Cresco as photographed by 
lieve that these turtles died, because they were 
exhausted from wandering around and around 
during their time of hibernation. I also believe 
that this “unnatural hibernation” led them to re¬ 
fuse all food. 
Perhaps if a turtle is kept continually in the 
cellar and it has a chance to dig and bury itself 
in the winter time, it may live for quite a while, 
coming out each spring. 
Regarding the catching of rats and mice in 
cellars, I believe that rats and mice might be 
kept away by the noise made by the turtle mak¬ 
ing its endless march around the cellar, but 
doubt whether a turtle could catch a rat or a 
mouse. 
In my yard I had a galvanized iron pan, three 
feet in length by two feet in width, by three 
a local photographer, H. Schnackenberg. Note 
the adaptation of the verse from Geo. D. Pratt 
which appears with illustration on the front 
cover of Forest and Stream. 
Your editorial, “Effective Conservation 
Work,” is a splendid endorsement of the efforts 
of the P. P. F. A. in appealing directly to the 
sportsmen of the State. Though there are a 
great many hunting and fishing clubs through¬ 
out Monroe and Pike counties it has been im¬ 
possible to awaken the members to a proper 
sense of their responsibility in this matter. 
It is with pleasure, therefore, that I find For¬ 
est and Stream lending its influence in the great 
work. 
I am sending my November copy to Dr. Fish¬ 
er and enclose the price of another copy. 
You are privileged to use the post card in any 
manner you see fit and I am sure the secretary 
will be glad to furnish you with any information 
you may desire. 
Cresco, Pa., Nov. 16, 1915. 
inches in depth, for water. In this the turtles 
would enjoy themselves, drinking from the edge 
with heads submerged; or, with the entire body 
submerged for sometimes as long as several 
hours, and even for a whole day. Even in the 
country where I how have the “herd” I have a 
small dish in which they can just get in and they 
certainly appreciate a “bath.” 
Occasionally one can see a turtle dragging an¬ 
other one along, the first one having the second 
fellow’s hind leg between his shell. This has 
probably been the result of a scuffle. 
The trick of a turtle righting itself, when it 
happens to fall from a log or from some other 
cause and landing on its back, is well known. I 
have helped a couple of very large females right 
themselves after they tried for several hours, 
this being due to extreme convexity of their shell. 
