The Harrison times., 1915-06-26

Isusuuuuaaznzu,a N that part Of the Ottawa
W valley where | live only
E two species Of chelonia
M are found-the painted
u~uuzuauuI turtle (Chrysemys picta),
4Ybol9. .&d popularly known as the
ESSSSHeS1 mud turtle" and the
FRTT swapping turtle (Chelydra
N1LsS serpentina) Both are en-.
trely aquatic in their
habits and rarely leave the water ex-
cept to lay their eggs, The painted
turtle Is the more abundant and, from
its custom Of crawling out on logs and
rocks to sun itself, is much oftener
seen, and consequently better known
than the snapper" which, though it
exists In far larger numbers than Is
generally suspected evidently finds
eoncealment best suited to It's preda.
cious mode Of life In its business It
does not pay to advertise.
The swapping turtle has a very ex.
tensive range, being found over the
whole Of the United States east OF the
Rockies, and as far south as Ecuador
while to the north II extends probably
to 90 degrees north latitude, It grows
much larger than Its painted" brother,
specimens with a carapaoe length Of
two feet being sometimes taken Be.
sides its strong, thick tail, its chief
characteristic is its long neck, which
1t can dart out with astonishing rapid.
ity to seize its prey or attack an enc.
my, and from this It gains It's popular
name, Its powerful Jaws, though
toothless, are bony and sharp, and are
capable OF iniictlng a serious wound
on the careless captor The carapace
Of the adult animal Is composed Of
smooth, well defined, greonIsh brown
plates. The plastron and under parts
OF the animal are yellowish Very old
individuals evidently lead sedentary
lives, and thus avoid the proverbIal
opprosrium Of the rolling stone" for
their shells are often thickly coated
with moss.
On land they can walk brisky
enough on their long legs but the
water Is their real element, and they
swim easily and we'll although, Of
course, their lines are not designed
for speed and they can remain sub.
merged for long periods
As the snapper" Is well able, and
always more than willing, to take n
strong offensive ever the best means
Of defenBe-it does not stand In need
Of a capacIous she'll like many Of It's
mildor.mannorod relatives, into which
TO retire out Of harms way, Conse.
Quon;ly itR carapaco scarcely covers
its retr0ctcd head and folded tail,
while It's cruciform pla8tr0n Is narrow
A and small, and leaves the under parts
practically undefonded The animal
generally has very unpleasant,
musty smell, aud always exhibits u
most savage temper lts fayoritc habi.
tat ia small, sluggish streams and
Gwamps, where Il lies concealed In the
mud and weeds, dnrting out It's long
neck to seize its food II In purely
carniyofous In itB diet and destroys
large numbers Of fish and whom II can
got them, young waterfowl, On this
account we must class It NJ a decided
iy Injurious animal although IN some
places II ~ regularly ueod for food,
and IN said TO be- often soon on sale
IN the markets Of The southern United
States,
About the middle Of June the TO-
males leave the water AZ night 10 de-
poat their eggs, They crawl out on
some sandy beach and Bcfape shallow,
eauoer.shuped deprcssions In the loose,
dry surface sand In order to reach the
nrmer layer Of damp sund benoOth,
iOn the beach examined these de-
preasiGna were about six Inches deep
by fourteen or fifteen inches In d.
ameter The turtles seem to be- rather
faatidious IN their choice OF site,
for they always make n number OF
those holowa before finally tunnelng
into che damp sand, The tunnel, which
10 The actual egg receptacle, IN an oval
section about three inches by four
inches, and slopes NJ an angle Of 20
0r 80 degrees into the damp sand
TO n depth Of four or five inches, The
eggs, which just about MI this tunnel
are all deposited At the same time
and the sand serOped over them again
and roughly heaped up, When the
NEST" In completed the bottom Of the
tunnel Ia about ton Inches from the
surface, The egga OF nearly all the
other eheonia are oval in outline, but
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