178 OUE REPTILES. 



Turtle-catching is another means by which 

 excessive turtle-population is kept in check 

 whether to supply the tables of epicures with 

 the dainty " green turtle/' or to secure the 

 horny plates of the "Hawk's Bill" for con- 

 version into combs, card-cases, &c., for the use 

 of the elite of the civilized world. One method 

 adopted is to watch the females as they come on 

 shore to deposit their eggs, to turn them on 

 their backs, and let them lie helplessly vibrating 

 their " flappers " till their hunters think fit to 

 kill them, or carry them away. Another method 

 is described by Mr. Darwin as adopted at Keel- 

 ing Island. The water is so clear and shallow 

 that, although at first a turtle quickly dives out 

 of sight, yet in a canoe or boat under sail the 

 pursuers, after no very long chase, come up to 

 it. A man standing ready in the bows at this 

 moment dashes through the water upon the 

 turtle's back ; then clinging with both hands by 

 the shell of the neck he is carried away till the 

 animal becomes exhausted, and is secured.* A 

 more curious mode of capture is that by means 

 of the Remora, or sucking-fish. A number of 

 these fish are carried in tubs in the boats that 

 go in search of turtles. To the tail of each fish 

 is attached a strong cord. When the fishermen 



* Darwin's " Journal of Researches." 



