24 THE CARET, OR BAWK'S-BILL TURTLE. 



The Hawk' s-bill Turtle is the animal which furnishes the valuable "tortoise-shell" of 

 commerce, and is therefore a creature of great importance. The scales of the back are thirteen 

 in number, and as they overlap each other for about one-third of their length, they are larger 

 than in any other species where the edges only meet. In this species, too, the scales are 

 thicker, stronger, and more beautifully clouded than in any other Turtle. The removal of the 

 plates is a very cruel process, the poor reptiles being exposed to a strong heat which causes 

 the plates to come easily off the back. In many cases the natives are very rough in their 

 mode of conducting this process, and get the plates away by lighting a fire on the back of the 

 animal. This mode of management, however, is injurious to the quality of the tortoise-shell. 

 After the plates have been removed, the Turtle is permitted to go free, as its flesh is not eaten, 

 and after a time it is furnished with a second set of plates. These, however, are of inferior 

 quality, and not so thick as the first set. 



When first removed, they are rather crumpled, dirty, opaque, brittle, and quite useless 

 for the purposes of manufacture, and have to undergo certain processes in order that these 

 defects may be corrected. Boiling water and steam are the two principal agents in this part 

 of the manufacture, the plates being boiled and steamed until they are soft and clean, and 

 then pressed between wooden blocks until they are flat. The tortoise-shell possesses the 

 valuable property of uniting together perfectly, if two pieces are thoroughly softened, heated, 

 and then subjected to the action of a powerful press. By this mode of treatment, the tortoise- 

 shell can be formed into pieces of any size or thickness, and can even be forced into moulds, 

 retaining, when cold, a perfect impression of the mould. Even the chippings and scrapings 

 of this valuable substance are collected, and being heated and pressed, are formed into solid 

 cakes fit for the purposes of manufacture. 



The uses to which this costly and beautiful substance are put, are innumerable. The most 

 familiar form in which the tortoise-shell is presented to us is the comb, but it is also employed 

 for knife-handles, boxes, and many other articles of ornament or use. 



This species is not nearly so large as the green Turtle, and its flesh is not used for food. 

 The eggs, however, are thought to be a great delicacy. It is remarkable that when these eggs 

 are boiled, the albumen, or "white" as it is popularly called, does not become firm. The 

 external membrane is white, flexible, and the eggs are nearly spherical in their form. Their 

 number is very great, and the animal usually lays them in sets at intervals of about three 

 weeks. 



The young are generally hatched in about three weeks after the eggs are laid in the sand, 

 the hot rays of the sun being the only means by which they obtain their development. When 

 first excluded from the shell, the young Turtles are very small and soft, not obtaining their 

 hard scaly covering until they have reached a more advanced age. Numberless animals, fish, 

 and birds feed on these little helpless creatures, and multitudes of them are snapped up before 

 they have breathed for more than a few minutes. The rudiments of the scales are perceptible 

 upon the backs of these little creatures, but the only hard portion is the little spot in the 

 centre of each plate, which is technically called the areola, the layers of tortoise-shell being 

 added by degrees from the edges of the plates. 



Many birds are always hovering about the islands Avhere Turtles lay their eggs, and as 

 soon as the little things make their appearance from the sand and hurry instinctively towards 

 the sea, they are seized by the many foes that are watching for their prey. Even when they 

 reach the water, their perils are not at an end, for there are marine as well as aerial and 

 terrestrial foes, and as many fall victims on the water as on land. So terrible is the destruc- 

 tion among these reptiles in their early days of life, that were it not for the great number of 

 eggs laid, they would soon be extirpated from the earth. 



The shell of the Hawk' s-bill Turtle is rather flat, and heart-shaped. When young, the 

 centre of each plate is rather pointed, but in the adult animal the points are worn away and 

 never restored. The plates surrounding the edges of the shell are arranged so as to form 

 strong teeth pointing towards the tail. In the younger specimens, there are two keels run- 

 ning the length of the plastron, but in the older individuals these are worn away like the 

 projections on the back. The jaws are strongly hooked at their tips, and the under jaw shuts 



