48 TORTOISES, TERRAPINS, AND TURTLES 



relative, it is widely distributed, but does not inhabit the 

 Indian Ocean. 



The flesh of this animal bears so close a resemblance to 

 beefsteak that even a butcher cannot always detect the dif- 

 ference. One Christmas morning, at Key West, I dissected a 

 large Loggerhead. The flesh was fresh, and very tempting, 

 and when a choice lot of steaks were offered to the landlady 

 of a certain small hotel, they were gratefully accepted. 



It happened that the butcher who supplied the hotel with 

 beef and mutton was a boarder thereat; and, as became his 

 calling, he sat at the head of the long table, and served the 

 meat. Although he was an able butcher, he had one weak- 

 ness; and it 'lay in the fact he "could not eat turtle-meat." 

 It was "too oily," too "musky," and too far removed from 

 beefsteak. 



With no unnecessary announcements, the turtle-steaks 

 were fried, a la beefsteak, and set before the butcher. He 

 served them as beefsteak, ate his own portion with evident 

 relish, and all the other guests ate theirs. The butcher had 

 nearly finished his second instalment, without having dis- 

 covered the substitution, when he was asked how he liked 

 turtle-steaks, for a change. 



The sandy beach on the east coast of Florida, along the 

 Indian River Peninsula, is a favorite spot for both Logger- 

 head and green turtles to lay their eggs. Mrs. C. F. Latham, 

 of Oak Lodge, ninety miles above Palm Beach, has made 

 careful observations on the habits of these turtles. In the 

 months of May and June, when the summer heat is becom- 

 ing severe, on moonlight nights the turtles crawl up out of 



