FRESH-WATER TURTLES. 9 



snapper furnished 6 pounds of meat. At Fairport, Iowa, one which 

 weighed 11 pounds produced 5^ pounds of meat when carefully- 

 dressed, with tenderloin saved, but shell, liver, etc., discarded. The 

 relatively small difference in market prices between live turtles and 

 turtle meat among practiced dressers and dealers (10 cents alive, IT 

 cents dressed) does not account for so much waste, since one must 

 also consider the labor of dressing the meat. 



In considering the subject of waste it may be of interest to com- 

 pare turtles with other familiar objects, such as fish and poultry, 

 which may be bought either whole or dressed to suit the wishes of 

 the buyer. The proprietors of some of the fish markets on the 

 Mississippi (Muscatine, Iowa, and New Boston 111.) and on the 

 Illinois (Peoria), who have much experience weighing fish, since 

 they buy them living from the fishermen and sell most of them 

 dressed, were consulted in this regard, and their reports agreed 

 very closely. Carp were reported to dress off about 30 per cent, or 

 from 30 to 40 or 45 per cent, the higher percentages applying to the 

 females full of roe, which is usually discarded. Buffalofish were re- 

 ported to dress off somewhat less than carp. Catfish differ greatly, 

 according to kind and condition, but dress off on the average 60 

 pounds to the 100. At the Fairport biological station two ripe male 

 carp weighting 5 pounds 8 ounces were dressed. The head, scales, 

 and entrails weighed 1 pound 3 ounces and the milt 8 ounces, leav- 

 ing the weight of the dressed fish 3 pounds 12 ounces, a waste of 

 31.8 per cent. In looking through publications at hand devoted to 

 poultry, under the subject of waste, cocks were reported to dress oft' 

 23.4 per cent, cockerels 26 per cent, hens 24.2 per cent, and pullets 

 25.8 per cent of the live weight. These wastes, of course, leave bones 

 out of consideration. For fuller estimates and comparisons of the 

 absolute amount of wastes of various fishes the reader is referred to 

 a publication by Dr. W. O. Atwater, published as an appendix to the 

 report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for 1880.® 

 Unfortunately our data on the flesh of turtles are not in such a condi- 

 tion that they can be compared with the fish discussed in that article. 



To one who has not watched the process it might appear that 

 turtles would be difficult to dress. There is not nearly the labor 

 involved in cleaning a snapper, however, that there is in plucking 

 and dressing a chicken, and a novice would acquire the knack even 

 more quickly with the reptile than with the fowl. The bones and 

 joints are not so thoroughly ossified in the turtle and offer less 

 resistance to the carver. Along with economical considerations it 

 may be mentioned that one dealer remarked that " 8 pounds of 

 turtle will make soup for 50 people." Another phase of the subject 

 which has to do with economy, but which is more closely related 

 to the subject of cooking, will be discussed in that connection. 



QUALITY OF FLESH. 



The value of turtle flesh as a food and the extent to which it can 

 be used as a substitute for other meats is a question to be solved 



a Atwater, W. O. : Report of progress of an investigation of tlie chemical composition 

 and economic values of the fish and invertebrates used for food. Appendix D, Report 

 of the Commissioner, U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, for 1880, pp. 231-286. 

 Washington. 



