TURTLES AND TURTLE-CATCHING 



as easy as it sounds ; figures are deceptive, but if we bear 

 in mind that a green turtle is somewhere about the size 

 and weight of a grand piano, we shall not only appre- 

 ciate the difficulty of the men^s task, but shall hear with- 

 out wonder that when it is once on its back the huge mass 

 can never right itself again and is easily killed. This, 

 however, is not an invariable rule among the testudinata, 

 for the Galapagos tortoise, which sometimes weighs more 

 than the green turtle, is more agile, and makes no trouble 

 of getting back on its legs when it has been turned over. 



296 



