23 THE GREEN TURTLE 



and clean, and then pressed between wooden blocks until they are flat. The tortoiseshell 

 possesses the valuable property of uniting together perfectly, if two pieces are thoroughly 

 softened, heated, and then' subjected to the action of a powerful press. By this mode of 

 treatment, the tortoiseshell can be formed into pieces of any size or thickness, and can 

 even be forced into moulds, retaining, when cold, a perfect impression of the mould. 

 Even the chippings and scrapings of this valuable substance are collected, and being 

 heated and pressed, are formed into solid cakes fit for the purposes of manufacture. 



The uses to which this costly and beautiful substance are put, are innumerable. 

 The most familiar form in which the tortoiseshell is presented to us is the comb, but it is 

 also employed for knife-handles, boxes, and many other articles of ornament or use. 



This species is not nearly so large as the green Turtle, and its flesh is not used for 

 food. The eggs, however, are thought to be a great delicacy. It is remarkable that 

 when these eggs are boiled, the albumen, or " white " as it is popularly called, does not 

 become firm. The external membrane is white, flexible, and the eggs are nearly 

 spherical in their form. Their number is very great, and the animal usually lays them 

 in sets at intervals of about three weeks. 



The young are generally hatched in about three weeks after the eggs are laid in the 

 sand, the hot rays of the sun being the only means by which they attain their 

 development. When first excluded from the shell, the young Turtles are very small 

 and soft, not obtaining their hard scaly covering until they have reached a more ad- 

 vanced age. Numberless animals, fish, and birds feed on these little helpless creatures, 

 and multitudes of them are snapped up before they have breathed for more than a 

 few minutes. The rudiments of the scales are perceptible upon the backs of these 

 little creatures, but the only hard portion is the little spot in the centre of each plate, 

 which is technically called the areola, the layers of tortoiseshell being added by 

 degrees from the edges of the plates. 



Many birds are always hovering about the islands where Turtles lay their eggs, and 

 as soon as the little things make their appearance from the sand and hurry instinctively 

 towards the sea, they are seized by the many foes that are watching for their prey. Even 

 when they reach the water, their perils are not at an end, for there are marine as well as 

 aerial and terrestrial foes, and as many fall victims in the water as on land. So 

 terrible is the destruction among these reptiles in their early days of life, that were it not 

 for the great number of eggs laid, they would soon be extirpated from thfe earth. 



Three specimens of the Hawksbill Turtle have been found on our shores, and one of 

 them, which was taken alive in 1774, was conveyed ashore and placed in a fish-pond, 

 where it lived until winter. This specimen was caught in the Severn. 



The shell of the Hawksbill Turtle is rather flat, and heart-shaped. When young, the 

 centre of each plate is rather pointed, but in the adult animal the points are worn away 

 and never restored. The plates surrounding the edges of the shell are arranged so as to 

 form strong teeth pointing towards the tail. In the younger specimens, there are two 

 keels running the length of the plastron, but in the older individuals these are worn away 

 like the projections on the back. The jaws are strongly hooked at their tips, and the 

 under jaw shuts within the upper. The tail is very short. The color of this species is 

 yellow richly marbled with deep brown above. The under parts are yellowish white, 

 splashed with black on the areola in the half-grown and younger individuals, and the 

 head is brown, the plates being often edged with yellow. 



THE best known of all the turtles is the celebrated GREEN TURTLE, so called from 

 the green color of its fat. 



This useful animal is found in the seas and on the shores of both continents, and is 

 most plentiful about the Island of Ascension and the Antilles, where it is subject to 

 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. 



In Europe the flesh of the Green Turtle is little but an object of luxury, attainable 

 only at great cost and dressed with sundry accompaniments that increase rather than 

 diminish its natural richness. But in many instances, more especially on board ship, 



