TURTLES AND TORTOISES 47 



seen in the markets range in weight from forty to one 

 hundred and fifty pounds. 



The writer selected a fifty-pound specimen from a 

 New York market and placed the turtle in a large tank 

 to which was added enough salt to give the water a 

 brackish taste. For several years this turtle thrived, 

 when it met its death in a manner quite accidental. In 

 swimming, the motions were slow, graceful and sug- 

 gested the leisurely flight of a large bird — a hawk or 

 an eagle. A single sweep of the flippers would carry 

 the turtle about a yard; approaching the concrete side 

 of the tank with a momentum that threatened to dash 

 it against the hard surface, a single, easy movement of 

 the flippers would stop the creature when a few inches 

 away ; then another sweep of the limbs changed its direc- 

 tion in an exploration of the pool. 



Supposition has it that the food of the Green Tur- 

 tle is of a strictly vegetable nature. Such was not the 

 case with the writer's specimens. All showed a prefer- 

 ence for fish over other food; they would also eat mus- 

 sels, oysters and clams — after the mollusks had been 

 removed from their shells; an occasional turtle would 

 nibble at sea-weeds, but immediately left such food when 

 a dead fish was thrown into the tank. Without doubt, 

 while in a wild state, the Green Turtle necessarily feeds 

 largely on marine vegetation. It might be termed om- 

 nivorous and its jaws are powerful enough to crush the 

 larger crustaceans upon which it undoubtedly feeds to 

 some extent. 



Of the Chelonidce the Green Turtle seems to be the 

 most persistent wanderer from the warmer seas. It 

 follows the Gulf Stream northward along the Atlantic 

 Coast, showing a like disposition along European shores. 

 During the summer months frequent specimens are seen 



