﻿HAWKSBILL 
  TURTLE. 
  345 
  

  

  immersed 
  in 
  boiling 
  water 
  until 
  the 
  shields 
  loosen, 
  or 
  buried 
  in 
  the 
  sand 
  for 
  about 
  a 
  week, 
  

   when 
  the 
  shields 
  can 
  be 
  easily 
  detached. 
  Large 
  specimens 
  yield 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  eight 
  or 
  ten 
  

   pounds 
  of 
  "shell." 
  "Tortoise-shell 
  is 
  worked 
  precisely 
  as 
  horn; 
  but 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  high 
  value 
  

   of 
  the 
  material, 
  care 
  is 
  taken 
  to 
  prevent 
  any 
  waste 
  in 
  its 
  working. 
  The 
  plates, 
  as 
  separated 
  

   by 
  heat 
  from 
  the 
  bony 
  skeleton, 
  are 
  keeled, 
  curved, 
  and 
  irregular 
  in 
  form. 
  They 
  are 
  first 
  

   flattened 
  by 
  heat 
  and 
  pressure, 
  and 
  superficial 
  inequalities 
  are 
  rasped 
  away. 
  Being 
  harder 
  

   and 
  more 
  brittle 
  than 
  horn, 
  tortoise-shell 
  requires 
  careful 
  treatment 
  in 
  molding 
  it 
  into 
  any 
  

   form, 
  and 
  as 
  high 
  heat 
  tends 
  to 
  darken 
  and 
  obscure 
  the 
  material, 
  it 
  is 
  treated 
  at 
  as 
  low 
  a 
  heat 
  

   as 
  practicable. 
  For 
  many 
  purposes 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  increase 
  the 
  thickness 
  or 
  to 
  add 
  to 
  the 
  

   superficial 
  size 
  of 
  tortoise-shell, 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  readily 
  done 
  by 
  careful 
  cleaning 
  and 
  rasping 
  of 
  

   the 
  surfaces 
  to 
  be 
  united, 
  softening 
  the 
  plates 
  in 
  boiUng 
  water, 
  or 
  sometimes 
  by 
  dry 
  heat, 
  and 
  

   then 
  pressing 
  them 
  tightly 
  together 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  heated 
  pincers 
  or 
  a 
  vise. 
  The 
  heat 
  softens 
  

   and 
  liquefies 
  a 
  superficial 
  film 
  of 
  the 
  horny 
  material, 
  and 
  that 
  with 
  the 
  pressure 
  effects 
  a 
  per- 
  

   fect 
  union 
  of 
  the 
  siu-faces 
  brought 
  together. 
  Heat 
  and 
  pressure 
  are 
  also 
  employed 
  to 
  mold 
  

   the 
  substance 
  into 
  boxes 
  and 
  the 
  numerous 
  artificial 
  forms 
  into 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  made 
  up. 
  

  

  "Tortoise-shell 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  prized 
  ornamental 
  material 
  from 
  very 
  early 
  times. 
  It 
  was 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  highly 
  esteemed 
  treasures 
  of 
  the 
  far 
  East 
  brought 
  to 
  ancient 
  Rome 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  Egypt, 
  

   and 
  it 
  was 
  eagerly 
  sought 
  by 
  wealthy 
  Romans 
  as 
  a 
  veneer 
  for 
  their 
  rich 
  furniture. 
  In 
  modern 
  

   times 
  it 
  is 
  most 
  characteristically 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  elaborate 
  inlaying 
  of 
  cabinet 
  work 
  known 
  as 
  

   buhl 
  furniture. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  employed 
  as 
  a 
  veneer 
  for 
  small 
  boxes 
  and 
  frames. 
  It 
  is 
  cut 
  into 
  

   combs, 
  molded 
  into 
  snuff-boxes 
  and 
  other 
  small 
  boxes, 
  formed 
  into 
  knife-handles, 
  and 
  worked 
  

   up 
  into 
  many 
  other 
  similar 
  minor 
  articles. 
  The 
  plates 
  from 
  certain 
  other 
  tortoises, 
  known 
  

   commercially 
  as 
  turtle-shell, 
  possess 
  a 
  certain 
  industrial 
  value, 
  but 
  they 
  are 
  either 
  opaque 
  

   or 
  soft 
  and 
  leathery, 
  and 
  cannot 
  be 
  mistaken 
  for 
  tortoise-shell. 
  A 
  close 
  imitation 
  of 
  tortoise- 
  

   shell 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  by 
  staining 
  translucent 
  horn." 
  ^ 
  

  

  In 
  1909, 
  2,040 
  kilograms 
  of 
  tortoise-shell 
  were 
  exported 
  from 
  the 
  Philippines. 
  The 
  finest 
  

   quality 
  "shell" 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  come 
  from 
  the 
  Eastern 
  Archipelago, 
  but 
  large 
  quantities 
  are 
  obtained 
  

   in 
  the 
  West 
  Indies 
  and 
  off 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Brazil. 
  

  

  Ii^ 
  spite 
  of 
  Audubon's 
  assertion 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  good, 
  the 
  flesh 
  of 
  this 
  turtle 
  is 
  not 
  generally 
  

   used 
  for 
  food. 
  

  

  ' 
  Encyclopaedia 
  Britannica, 
  ed. 
  9, 
  1894, 
  vol. 
  23, 
  p. 
  460. 
  

  

  