712 



of Datura! 



shuffle slowly along ; while, from the flat- 

 tened form of the carapace, they are unable 

 to recover their natural position when 

 turned upon their backs. 



The EDIBLE or GREEN TURTLE (Chelonia 

 midas) is one of the largest of this genus, 

 often measuring above five feet in length, 

 and weighing above five or six hundred 

 pounds. Its shell consists of thirteen dorsal 

 segments or divisions, surrounded by twenty- 

 five marginal pieces ; and its form is some- 

 what heart-shaped, or pointed at the extre- 

 mity : its colour is a dull palish brown, more 

 or less variegated with deeper undulations, 

 but not exhibiting those strong and beauti- 



often lose, and recover again by the Turtle 

 putting his nose out of the water to breathe." 

 The Isle of Ascension is called by Sir J. E. 

 Alexander " the head quarters of the finest 

 Turtle in the world," and his account of it 

 in that locality, which we subjoin, is really 

 interesting : " We walked down to the 

 Turtle ponds, two large enclosures near the 

 sea, which flowed in and out through a 

 breakwater of large stones. A gallows was 

 erected between the two ponds, where the 

 Turtle are slaughtered for shipping, by sus- 

 pending them by the hind flippers, and then 

 cutting their throats. About three hundred 

 Turtle, of four and five hundred pounds 

 each, lay on the sand, or swam about in the 



ful colours which so peculiarly distinguish I ponds : a sight to set an alderman mad with 



that of the Imbricated Turtle. But so much 

 is the flesh esteemed, that it not only fur- 

 nishes an agreeable viand to those navigators 

 who traverse the torrid zone, and is eaten 

 by the inhabitants of our West India islands, 

 but is in such high estimation in this coun- 

 try as a delicious luxury, that large quanti- 

 ties are continually imported for the supply 

 of the London taverns alone. The eggs of 

 this species are very fine. 



" Of the Sea Turtles," says Cateshy, " the 

 most in request is the Green Turtle, which 

 is esteemed a most wholesome and delicious 

 food. It receives its name from the fat, 

 which is of a green colour. Sir Hans Sloane 

 informs us, in his History of Jamaica, that 

 forty sloops are employed by the inhabitants 

 of Port Royal, in Jamaica, for the catching 

 them. The markets are there supplied with 

 Turtle as ours are with butchers' meat. The 

 Bahamians carry many of them to Carolina, 

 where they turn to good account ; not be- 

 cause that plentiful country wants provisions, 

 but they are esteemed there as a rarity, and 

 for the delicacy of their flesh. They feed on 

 a kind of grass, growing at the bottom of the 

 sea, commonly called turtle-grass. The in- 

 habitants of the Bahama islands, by frequent 

 practice, are very expert at catching Turtles, 

 particularly the Green Turtle. In April 

 they go, in little boats, to Cuba and other 

 neighbouring islands, where, in the evening, 

 especially in moonlight nights, they watch 

 the going and returning of the Turtle to 

 and from their nests, at which time they 

 turn them on their backs, where they leave 

 them, and proceed on, turning all they meet; 

 for they cannot get on their feet again when 

 once turned. Some are so large that it re- 

 quires three men to turn one of them. The 

 way by which the Turtle are most commonly 

 taken at the Bahama islands is by striking 

 them with a small iron peg of two inches 

 long, put in a socket, at the end of a staff of 

 twelve feet long. Two men usually set out 

 for this work in a little light boat or canoe, 

 one to row and gently steer the boat, while 

 the other stands at the end of it with his 

 weapon. The Turtle are sometimes disco- 

 vered by their swimming with the head and 

 back out of the water, but they are more 

 often discovered lying at the bottom, a fa- 

 thom or more deep. If a Turtle perceives 

 he is discovered, he starts up to make his 

 escape ; the men in the boat pursuing him, 

 endeavour to keep sight of him, which, they 



delight ! 



" In the hot months of January, February, 

 March, and April, the females land at night ; 

 and waddling over the sands in the various 

 bays of the island far above high-water 

 mark, for by a pole in the ponds the tide 

 only rises here two feet, they scrape up, by 

 alternate scoops of their flippers, a hole deep 

 enough to cover their bodies. Into this they 

 get, sighing heavily, and deposit from one 

 hundred and fifty to two hundred eggs j 

 cover them up ; leave them to the sun to 

 hatch ; and then waddle again towards the 

 sea. Two stout hands are, meanwhile, on 

 the look-out, watching the movements of 

 the unfortunate Turtle ; and running up to 

 her after the completion of her task, one 

 seizes a fore-flipper, and dexterously shoves 

 it under her belly, to serve as a purchase ; 

 whilst the other, avoiding a stroke which 

 might lame him, cants the Turtle over on 

 her back, where she lies helpless. From fif- 

 teen to thirty are thus turned in a night ; 

 and six hundred had been so captured in the 

 season of 1834. In the bays, where the surf, 

 or heavy rollers, prevent the boats being 

 beached to take on board the Turtle when 

 caught, they are hauled out to them by 

 ropes. 



" No ships' crews are now allowed to turn 

 Turtle, which is converted into a govern- 

 ment monopoly ; and two pounds ten shil- 

 lings is the fixed price for each. Strange to 

 say, from the time that the young Turtle, 

 the size of a dollar, are observed scuttling 

 down to the water, they are never seen again 

 here until they are four or five hundred 

 pounds weight ; and how long they take to 

 attain this great size, and where they spend 

 the intermediate time, is as yet a mystery. 

 I was surprised to hear that Turtle are kept 

 in the ponds for a year and upwards without 

 a morsel of food of any kind. They some- 

 times deposit their eggs in the sand, on the 

 sides of the ponds ; and in due time the little 

 animals are allowed to make their escape to 

 sea. One old female, called 'Nelson,' because 

 one of her flippers had been carried off by a 

 shark, was kept, out of respect, for two or 

 three years in the ponds. She contrived, 

 however, one night to crawl round the en- 

 closure, and make her escape : but she was 

 turned next year in Clarence Bay. Another 

 Turtle was also turned there, a short time 

 since, on the back shell of which was carved 

 the name of a mate of a British vessel, who 



