492 THE GREEN TURTLE AND THE CROCODILE. 



too, the scales are thicker, stronger, and more beautifully clouded than 

 in any other Turtle. 



The uses to which this costly and beautiful substance is put are in- 

 miinerable. The most familiar form in which the tortoiseshell is pre- 

 sented to us is the comb, but it is also em- 

 ployed for knife-handles, boxes, and many 

 other articles of ornament or use. 



The best known of all the Turtles is 

 :i^^^^^^^J the celebrated Green Turtle, so called 

 fe^ from the green color of its fat. 



This useful animal is found in the seas 



and on the shores of both continents, and 



-^v^_^^^^^^~~^ is most plentiful about the island of As- 



The Green Turtle {Chelonia cension and the Antilles, where it is sub- 



v'^idis). jgp^ ^Q incessant persecution for the sake 



of its flesh. The shell of this reptile is of very little use and of small 



value, but the flesh is remarkably rich and well flavored, and the green 



fat has long enjoyed a world-wide and fully-deserved reputation. 



The eggs of the Turtle are thought as great delicacies as its flesh. It 

 is while the female Turtle is visiting the shore for the purpose of de- 

 positing her eggs that she is usually captured, as these sea-loving reptiles 

 care little for the shore except for this purpose. 



CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS. 



According to the arrangement of the national collection in the Brit- 

 ish Museum, the link next to the tortoise tribe is formed of an import- 

 ant group of reptiles, containing the largest of the reptilian order — 

 larger, indeed, than most present inhabitants of the earth. 



These great reptiles are divided, or rather fall naturally, into two 

 families — namely, the Crocodiles and the Alligators. All the members 

 of these families can easily be distinguished by the shape of their jaws 

 and teeth, the lower canine teeth of the Crocodiles fitting into a notch 

 in the edge of the upper jaw, and those of the Alligators fitting into 

 a pit in the upper jaw. This peculiarity causes an obvious diflTerence 

 in the outline of the head, the muzzle of the Crocodiles being narrowed 

 behind the nostrils, while that of the Alligators forms an unbroken line 

 to the extremity. A glance, therefore, at the head will sufl^ce to settle 

 the family to which any species belongs. In the Crocodiles, more- 

 ^)vor, the hind legs are fringed behind with a series of compressed 

 scales. 



The most peculiar of these reptiles is the long-celebrated Crocodile 

 of Northern Africa. 

 This terrible creature is found chiefly in the Nile, where it absolutely 



