110 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



most favourable [during the months of February, 

 March, and April C. H.]. The young turtles hatch 

 in 40 days and go straight down the beach to the 

 sea. The hatching of all the eggs in a nest takes place 

 almost simultaneously, and the young turtles dig their 

 way up out of the sand as fast as they can be counted 

 and crawl down to the sea in a long procession. 

 By what sense they find the right direction was not 

 discovered ; their eyes are not open but even if 

 placed on a flat surface [or taken into the forest for a 

 hundred yards or so] they know their way to the sea. 

 The hatching of the whole nest only takes about 

 10 minutes and forms a remarkable and pretty sight." 



In Sarawak the Green Turtle is rigorously preserved, 

 the destruction of one entailing a heavy fine. Owing 

 to the large number of eggs laid and the ready 

 demand for them, the Turtle islands yield a con- 

 siderable revenue, which by an agreement with the 

 Sarawak Government, appertains to the principal 

 Malay chiefs of the State in turn. At the commence- 

 ment of the egg-laying season watchers are stationed 

 on each of the islands whose duty it is to mark the 

 places in the sand where the eggs are laid ; these are 

 dug up next morning and sent off by boat to Kuching. 

 The fat of the Green Turtle, which figures so largely in 

 civic banquets, is not appreciated by Oriental natives ; 

 indeed, the Turtle soup which is frequently served at 

 the dinner-parties of Europeans in the Far East 

 invariably comes out of a tin. 1 



The Hawksbill, or Tortoiseshell Turtle, Chelom im- 

 bricata, is far less abundant. According to Mr. Fryer 

 (loc. cit.) it ascends the beach in the daytime to lay 



1 Not in Singapore where one gets fresh Turtle. H. N. R. 



