694 A. E. Verritt — The Bermuda Islands. 



There is every reason to believe that the Green Turtle could be 

 raised artificially with much profit, at the Bermudas, in suitable 

 localities, where they could be easily confined and fed on their 

 natural food, or on some cheap substitutes.* 



The Green Turtle has a wide range, being found as far south as 

 southern Brazil, and north to Cape Hatteras ; rarely on the New 

 England coast. Their numbers are rapidly decreasing, even in the 

 West Indies, and if not protected they will become practically 

 extinct in a few years. 



Their nests and eggs should be thoroughly protected, wherever 

 possible, and the taking of female turtles on the beaches, while 

 depositing their eggs, should be utterly prohibited, and a close 

 period during their breeding season, from March to July, should be 

 provided. f 



A similar species ( C. virgata) occurs in the Pacific and Indian 

 Oceans, and is found on the California coast. 



c. — The Hawksbitt; Caret; Tortoise-shell Turtle. {Caretta imbri- 

 cata (L.) Merr., 1820j = Eretmochelys irnbricata Fitz., Agassiz). 



Figure 48. 

 This species, though less common than the Green Turtle, is still 

 frequently taken about the Bermudas, and is sold for food, though 



* Whether they would breed in confinement is doubtful, but very young ones 

 could be secured in the West Indies in large numbers, and brought to Bermuda 

 in vessels provided with wells. They are believed to grow rapidly, but I have 

 seen no record as to the amount of increase of those that are frequently kept in 

 the natural fish ponds, as at Walsingham ; nor do I know whether they receive 

 an abundance of suitable food in those places. They will eat purslane (Portu- 

 lacca oleracea) and grow fat on it (Holbrook and others). This weed is still 

 used to feed them in the turtle ponds at Bermuda. Probably they would also 

 eat many other land plants, such as pumpkins and cabbages. 



f At present it would probably be impossible to get the various governments, 

 owning the islands on which the turtles breed, to cooperate, to any great extent, 

 in any such measures. They are more likely, as in the case of the fur seals, to 

 wait until the species are exterminated before making laws to preserve them. 

 Much might be done, however, by private owners taking up lands along the 

 shores where they breed and protecting their nests and young, and raising the 

 young for the nort hern markets. 



% The generic name Caretta Merr., 1820, has clear priority over Eretmochelys 

 Fitz., 1843 (as a subgenus), adopted by Agassiz, as a genus, in 1857. As used 

 in 1820, it included also ThalassochHys Fitz., 1841, but the elimination of the 

 latter restricted the name to the type, C. irnbricata, for which it should be used. 

 Another allied species (('. squamata Ag., Kr.) is found in the Pacific and Indian 

 Oceans, and also occurs on the California coast. 



