-papular SJirttnimrn nf gmmatctt Mature. 713 



had bought it and sailed with it three weeks 

 before : it is probable that, imagining it to 

 be dead, he had thrown it overboard. The 

 best way to send home Turtle from Ascen- 

 sion, is to ' head them up ' in a sealed cask, 

 and have the water ehanged daily by the 

 bunghole and a eoek. Turtle, though the 

 extremes of heat and cold are equally inju- 

 rious to them, should always arrive in hot 

 weather in England. Thus, an unfortunate 

 captain, on one occasion, took from Ascen- 

 sion two hundred Turtle ; and timing his 

 arrival badly, brought only four alive to 

 Bristol ! " 



Mr. Darwin, in his Journal, when de- 

 scribing Keeling Island, gives an account of 

 another method of catching Turtle. He 

 says, " I accompanied Captain Fitzroy to 

 an island at the head of the lagoon : the 

 channel was exceedingly intricate, winding 

 through fields of delicately branched corals. 

 We saw several Turtles, and two boats were 

 then employed in catching them. The 

 method is rather curious : the water is so 

 clear and shallow, that although at lir.-t 

 Turtle quickly dives out of sight, yet in 

 canoe or boat under sail, the pursuers, afte 

 no very long chase, come up to it. A ma 

 standing ready in the bows at this momei 

 dashes through the water upon the Turtle 

 back ; then, clinging with both hands by 

 the shell of the neck, he is carried away till 

 the animal Incomes exhausted, and is se- 

 cured. It was quite an interesting chase to 

 see the two boats thus doubling about, and 

 the men dashing into the water, trying to 

 seize their prey. 



The IMBRICATED TURTLE (Chelonia fm- 

 bricata) is so named from its scales over- 

 lapping each other at their extremities, in 

 the manner of tiles on the roof of a building. 

 The outline of the shell is more heart-shaped 

 than any other species, and terminates more 

 acutely : each of the middle row of scales on 

 the back is also of nn acute form at the tip, 

 and has a ridge or carina down the middle : 

 the head is smaller than in other Turtles ; 

 the neck longer, and the beak narrower, 



(cHELONIi IMBBICATA.) 



sharper, and more curved, so as to bear no 

 inconsiderable resemblance to the bill of a 

 hawk : hence its common or popular name 

 Iliurksbill Turtle. The fore legs are longer 

 than in the rest of the tribe, and it is said that 

 when turned or laid on its back, the animal 



is enabled by their assistance to recover its 

 i former position, which no other Turtle can 

 do. It is a native of the Asiatic and Ame- 

 rican seas, and is occasionally also found 

 in the Mediterranean. Its general length is 

 about three feet, though it is sometimes 

 much larger, and in the Indian ocean in 

 particular, specimens are said to have oc- 

 curred of more than twice that size. The 

 flesh is in no estimation as a food : but the 

 lamellae or plates of the shell are stronger, 

 thicker, and clearer than in any other kind, 

 afford the valuable substance called tortoise- 

 shell : they are semi-transparent, and most 

 elegantly variegated with whitish, yellowish, 

 reddish, and dark brown clouds and undu- 

 lations, so as to constitute, when properly 

 prepared and polished, one of the most ele- 

 gant articles for various ornamental purposes. 

 "The goodness of tortoise-shell depends 

 mainly on the thickness and size of the 

 scales, and in a smaller degree on the clear- 

 ness and brilliancy of the colours. The best 

 is that of the Indian Archipelago ; and the 

 finest of this quarter is obtained on the shores 

 of the Spice Islands and New Guinea." 

 MH'ulloch. 



The natural or general number of the 

 dorsal pieces is thirteen j the marginal row 

 ron>i.ting of twenty-five smaller pieces. 

 This external coating is raised or separated 

 from the bony part, which it covers, by 

 placing fire beneath the shell ; the heat 

 soon causing the plates to start, so as to be 

 easily detached from the bone. These plates 

 vary in thickness, according to the age and 

 size of the animal, and measure from an 

 eighth to a quarter of an inch in thickness. 



The CORIACEOUS TURTLE (Spharffu cori- 

 acea) differs from the rest of its tribe, not 

 only in the form of its body, which is longer 

 in proportion, but still more in its external 

 covering, which is of a substance resembling 

 strong leather, marked over the whole sur- 

 face into small, obscurely subhexagonal and 

 pentagonal subdivisions or lineatious, which 

 do not, however, detract from its general 

 smoothness. Along the whole length of this 

 leathery shield run five distinct, strongly 

 prominent, tuberculated ridges, besides those 

 which border the sides. There is no under 

 or thoracic shell ; and the general colour of 

 the whole animal is dusky brown, paler 

 beneath. The head is large, and the upper 

 mandible notched at the tip in such a man- 

 ner as to give the appearance of two large 

 teeth or processes, between which, when the 

 mouth is closed, is received the tip of the 

 lower mandible. The fins or legs are large 

 and long, and covered with a tough leathery 

 skin ; the tail is rather short and sharp 

 pointed. This singular animal is a native 

 of the Mediterranean sea ; it is occasionally 

 seen both on the coasts of South America 

 and Africa ; and has been taken at different 

 periods both on the coasts of France and 

 England. Instances have been known of 

 their being eight feet long, and weighing a 

 thousand pounds. 



The LOOGKRHRAD TURTLE (Textudo 

 caretta) is of extraordinary size, and the 

 boldest and most voracious of any ; but, 



3 p 3 



