Morning journal and courier., 1884-07-30

S563. .46; general account, $1 ,0e9 65; salaries, S83. 33; new farm, $83; assessors salaries, Gilbert and Merriman for June), $25O; aims house, 4444.75.
 It was voted that committee be appointed to inquire as to the cost of threshing ma chine and the erection of a corn crib for the use of the town. Messrs. Reynolds, Tyler and Treat were appointed.
 The matter of curbing South Quinnipiac street was laid over until the next meeting. Adjourned.
 HAPPY TURTLES.
 A New Haven Man Who Knows
 All About These CrustaceOus Ani-
 maIs-A Little Wire Enclosure Full
 of Pets.
 There are many members of the animal
 kingdom which are favored by man with the
 special distinction of having a considerable
 amount of his attention and love given them.
 Such animals are called pets. Such is the
 rabbit, the white mouse, the cat. The Cir
 cassian girl in the circus dotes upon her snake; the fashionable girl in the conserva- tory dotes upon her savage bull pup; the wild girl in the country dotes upon her dude. But in the opinion of one gentleman and his 1 daughter who dwell in the City of Films,
 snakes, puppies, monkies and dudes are no where. They have found more choice pet, l and the aforesaid pets must look to their I laurels this latest favorite will become l fashionable and the dogs and dudes be ban ! ished into the realms of disuse. The animal mentioned is none other than the turtle. Now ! the turtle, as many know, is rather peculiar 1 ill some of his habits, that of catching hold l of peoples extremities and holding on with l strange fervor being one of the most marked 1 characteristics of his species. Moreover 1 the turtle as probably many do not know, is distinetively American, as he l was named on these shores during the period 1 when certain Americus Vespuccius and one l Columbus were getting good deal of fame, l although they were really, as recent discov- | cries show, very inferior sort of men, you 1 know The word turtle was formerly ap- 1 piled to doves, and the word tortoise used
 to designate the strange, soup-making 1 chelonian. So in this country we have tur- ties but not tortoises, except those which | roam about on land. Therefore, being 1 American the turtle has claims upon all pat 1 riotic lovers of pets. And it is an open l question whether the young ladies of our I land would not do well to transfer their l strings and their allegiance from their dogs l to turtles
 But MT. F. A. Newton, the manufacturer, l and his daughter, residing at No. 16 Vernon street, this city, rightly appreciate the claims 1 of the turtle upon our tender heart strings. They have been for several years cultivating several kinds of turtles with excellent sue cess. They now have twenty six of them, all l jolly turtles, well behaved, fond of being l taken notice of and fed and devoted to their 1 enclosure, although betraying remarkable sa- 1 gacity in finding apertures through which to crawl out and roam at large into the gar den. There are turtles among the number who live exclusively upon the land and do not take at all kindly to water, and there are others which are largely in the majority that fond of water as duck. To provide for the aqueous proclivities of the latter plen- ty of water is furnished in a tank sunk into the ground, the top of which is on level with the ground, so that the turtles can crawl in or out as their own sweet will dictates. Stir up the water with umbrella end or stick and
 up come the water-loving turtles one after another to see what's up. The chief end and aim of the turtles, both land and water tur-
 ties, seems to be to eat, loaf around and sleep. Poke over the grass and hay under the little low-roofed retiring pen and you find dozen or so turtles which look sleepily at the visitor and then crawl out to see if it is not grub time. The young lady of the house feeds them often, and when she brings out the feed the turtles fall into line and march one after the other up ot the feeding places and assail
 the food with voracity. Itis cracker crumbs
 and milk that they like well for steady
 diet, but they are particularly fond of straw
 berries and store away enormous quantities
 of them in strawberry time. They look hap
 nv and briOht whether greeted by Renu h1i-
 cans or Democrats, if there is F'feed" forth
 coming, and are as sociable among them
 selves as turtles can be. They have each name. Lillie, Violet, Spunky, and Airline
 are some of the pets' names. Jumbo and
 Thaddeus were others of the family which
 are no more, having died recently. Spunky is large land turtle with speckled and rounded back, and goes with head up as if proud and irate. Then there are lit tie turtles which were born and bred in the pen and know no other home but the en- closure Some of the turtles have lived six years in the pen, or since the pen was started, and the majority of the turtles were born and size of bluebird's, but have no shell, and look and feel like leather. The turtles have no trouble with the eggs after laying them, but leave them alone and the young hatch out without parental help and fall to work eating as soon as pos sible. When winter comes the turtles are buried down deep in the ground under the frost where they remain until spring is advanced, when they are dug up and restored to the pen After winking and blinking awhile, after being unearthed, they turn their heads around and as soon as they get used to their legs start off for the feeding dishes. When buried they are given bed and covering and by means of boards they are kept free from the rnasS of earth above them.