T'ortugas Turtles^ 259 



dustriously she removes the sand beneath her, casting it 

 out on either side. Layer after layer she deposits her 

 eggs, arranging them in the most careful manner, and 

 with her hind paddles brings the sand over them. The 

 business is accomplished, the spot is covered over, and 

 with a joyful heart the turtle swiftly retires toward the 

 shore and launches into the. deep. 



" But the Tortugas are not the only breeding-places 

 of the turtle : these animals, on the contrary, frequent 

 many other keys as well as various parts of the coast of 

 the mainland. There are four different species, which 

 are known by the names of the green turtle, the hawk- 

 billed turtle, the logger-head tiu'tle, and the trunk turtle. 

 The first is considered the best as an article of food, in 

 which capacity it is well known to most epicures. It ap- 

 proaches the shores, and enters the bays, inlets, and riv- 

 ers, early in the month of April, after having spent the 

 winters in the deep waters. It deposits its eggs in con- 

 venient places, at two different times, in May, and once 

 again in June. The first deposit is the largest, and the 

 last the least, the total quantity being at an average about 

 two hundred and forty. The hawk-billed turtle, whose 

 shell is so valuable as an article of commerce, being used 

 for various purposes in the arts, is the next with respect 

 to the quality of its flesh. It resorts to the outer keys 

 only, where it deposits its eggs in two sets, first in July 

 and again in August, although \tcra7uls the beaches much 

 earlier in the season, as if to look for a safe place. The 

 average number of its eggs is about three hundred. The 

 logger-head visits the Tortugas in April, and lays from 

 that period until late in June three sets of eggs, each set 

 averaging a hundred and seventy. The trunk turtle, 

 which is sometimes of an enormous size, and which has 

 a pouch like a pelican, reaches the shores latest. The 

 shell and fish are so. soft that one may push the fingei 



