. Nature study and agriculture. Nature study; Agriculture. 412 WILD ANIMALS parts of the animal are encased. The upper half of the shell is formed out of the ribs, widened and grown together. Between the upper and lower halves of the shell there is an opening at each end, for front legs and head and for hind legs and tail. These organs may be withdrawn into the shell, and then the entire animal is safe from any ordinary danger. There are many kinds of turtles, some of them inhabiting the land, others are found in ponds and rivers, and others in the sea. We are most likely to meet the smooth-sh
. Nature study and agriculture. Nature study; Agriculture. 412 WILD ANIMALS parts of the animal are encased. The upper half of the shell is formed out of the ribs, widened and grown together. Between the upper and lower halves of the shell there is an opening at each end, for front legs and head and for hind legs and tail. These organs may be withdrawn into the shell, and then the entire animal is safe from any ordinary danger. There are many kinds of turtles, some of them inhabiting the land, others are found in ponds and rivers, and others in the sea. We are most likely to meet the smooth-shelled turtles or terrapins, which live half the time in the water of ponds and rivers and the rest of the time on near-by land. Many species of this group are highly valued for food and have helped to make " turtle soup " famous. Of the smooth-shelled turtles the com- monest is the Painted Turtle or Painted Terrapin. Its shell is scarcely six inches long, and is greenish black above, with yellow edges around all the plates except those along the side of the shell, which are marked with red. The under shell is yellow. This turtle has a habit of sunning itself on logs or stones over the water, ready to slide in at the moment it thinks you are coming too near. By this habit we may distinguish this species from the mud turtles. Turtles are reproduced from soft-shelled eggs which are slightly buried in earth or sand and left to hatch in the sun. In case of the smooth- shelled turtles just described the eggs are laid a short distance from the water which the animals inhabit. Serpents. — Of the innumerable varieties of serpents only a few are found in the cold climate of the northern states, and not many of our readers wUl be apt to meet any other than the common Garter Snake. In a few limited areas the Rattlesnake also occurs. These two we there- fore describe. AH serpents are flesh-eating animals, and live upon frogs and toads, other snakes, and small birds and mammals.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
