Ornate box turtles are able to detect the presence of intruders, by sight, from a distance of several hundred feet in open country; apparently, intruders are not detected until seen. Defensive behavior is passive; the shell is closed tightly in response to painful stimuli and, in some instances, at the sight of an intruder. Juveniles usually void odoriferous fluid from the musk glands when handled but adults do so only in response to pain or injury. The function of the musk glands is unknown; possibly the odor of musk is a means of sexual identification or stimulation. Although the musk is probably distasteful to predators, repellent odor alone seems to be of doubtful value as a defense mechanism. LITERATURE CITED AGASSIZ, L. 1857. Embryology of the turtle. Contributions to the natural history of the United States, 2(3):451-643, 27 pls., 12 wood-cuts in text, tables. Little, Brown and Co., Boston. ALLARD, H. A. 1935. The natural history of the box turtle. Sci. Monthly, 41:325-338. 1939. Mating of the box-turtle ending in death of the male. Copeia, 1939(2):109. ALTLAND, P. D. 1951. Observations on the structure of the reproductive organs of the box turtle. Journ. Morph., 89:599-621, 16 figs. AUFFENBERG, W. 1958. Fossil turtles of the genus _Terrapene_ in Florida. Bull. Florida State Mus., Biol. Sci., 3(2):53-92, 15 figs., 5 tables. BAILEY, R. M. 1948. Winter mortality in the snake _Storeria dekayi_. Copeia, 1948 (3):215. BELDING, D. L. 1952. Textbook of clinical parasitology. Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., New York, viii + 1139 pp., 283 figs. BLANCHARD, F. N. 1923. The amphibians and reptiles of Dickinson County, Iowa. Univ. Iowa, Studies Nat. Hist., 10:19-26. BOGERT, C. M. 1937. Note on the growth rate of the desert tortoise, _Gopherus agassizi_. Copeia, 1937(3):191-192. BOOTH, K. 1958. Development of eggs and young of desert tortoise. Herpetologica, 13(4):261-263. BREDER, R. B. 1927. Turtle trailing: a new technique for studying the life habits of certain Testudinata. Zoologica, 9(4):231-243. BRENNAN, L. A. 1937. A study of the habitat of the reptiles and amphibians of Ellis County, Kansas. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 40:341-347, 1 table. BRUMWELL, M. J. 1940. Notes on the courtship of the turtle, _Terrapene ornata_. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 43:391-392.