NOTE-BOOK OF A NATURALIST. 279 



garis of Ray; Jurucua Brasiliensihiis, and Tartaruga 

 Lusltanis, of the same; Tortue franche of Kochefort, 

 Du Tertre, and Labat. 



He then describes the Testudo marina Caouanna 

 dicta, Tortue caouanna, Rochef., Labat, Ray, Kaouanne 

 of Du Tertre, calling it the haivks-hill turtle, describing 

 it as * very little differing from the common sea sort, only 

 in every part less,' and ' not so good victuals as the 

 former, though as common in these seas/ This is pro- 

 bably the Loggerhead turtle of authors. 



Sloane then gives an account of the Testudo caretta 

 dicta, which I take to be the true hawks-bill turtle, and 

 of which, he says, they ' are chiefly valued for their 

 scales, commonly calFd tortoiseshell ; and are found with 

 the others/ 



Pere Labat speaks of la tortue franche, the green 

 turtle, as ' la seule espece qui soit veritablement bonne a 

 manger ;' of le caret, the hawks-bill, as furnishing * ^caille 

 de tortue:' — 'sa chair,' he adds, 'n'est pas bonne a man- 

 ger;' he speaks of it as 'd'une qualite purgative,' as the 

 good father found to his cost ; and indulgence in it nearly 

 cost a reverend brother his life. 



Of la caouanne, the loggerhead, he WTites with more 

 correctness than Sloane, who probably saw only young 

 specimens, that it is ' plus grande qne les deux autres. 

 Son ecaille ne vaut rien. Sa chair n'est pas meilleure, 

 elle est toujours maigTe, filasseuse, coriace, et de mau- 

 vaise odeur. On ne laisse pas de la sailer pour les 

 Negres, ci, qui tout est hon.' 



It is, perhaps, too much to say, that the tortoiseshell of 

 the loggerhead is entirely worthless, though it is com- 

 paratively valueless ; and, indeed, that of the hawks-bill 

 is very inferior to the true article produced by Chelone 

 imbricata. 



Labat tells us, that those who go to the turtle islands 

 or other localities to fish for the o^reen and hawks-bill tur- 



