TURTLES. 163 
former species; -The Hawk’s-bill Turtle is met with in the Indian 
Ocean, and.also on the American shores. ~ It feeds on marine plants, 
or molluscs, and small fishes, and is chiefly sought after for its shell, 
which is the finest known. Its flesh is unpalatable, from its musky 
flavour. On the other hand, its eggs are excellent when fresh, and 
are eagerly sought after. 
In order to prepare the shell for use, it is softened by means of 
boiling; it is then flattened by being passed through a press; in 
Fig. 4o.—Loggerhead Turtle. 
this condition it is ready to be manufactured into all sorts of orna- 
‘mental work. The Loggerhead Turtle (Chedonia caretta, Fig. 40), 
like the Green Turtle, has its scales placed side by side. Its colour 
is brownish or deep maroon. It is found incidentally on the French 
and English coasts, but abounds in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. 
Its length is about four feet; its weight, from 300 to 4oo pounds. 
It is very voracious, and feeds principally on molluscs. Its shell 
is much valued, but its flesh is indifferent, and its fat altogether 
uneatable. 
. The Leathery Turtle (Sphargis coriacea, Fig. 41) differs from every 
other genus, its body being enveloped in a coriaceous hide; tuber- 
culous in the young, perfectly smooth in adults. The feet are with- 
