282 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. 694 
There is every reason to believe that the Green Turtle could be 
raised artificially with much profit, at the Bermudas, in suitable 
localities, where they could be easily confined and fed on their 
natural food, or on some cheap substitutes.* 
The Green Turtle has a wide range, being found as far south as 
southern Brazil, and north to Cape Hatteras; rarely on the New 
England coast. Their numbers are rapidly decreasing, even in the 
West Indies, and if not protected they will become practically 
extinct in a few years. 
Their nests and eggs should be thoroughly protected, wherever 
possible, and the taking of female turtles on the beaches, while 
depositing their eggs, should be utterly prohibited, and a close 
period during their breeding season, from March to July, should be 
provided. t 
A similar species (C. virgata) occurs in the Pacific and Indian 
Oceans, and is found on the California coast. 
ce.—The Hawksbill; Caret; Tortoise-shell Turtle. (Caretta imbri- 
cata (L.) Merr., 1820{ = Eretmochelys imbricata Fitz., Agassiz). 
Figure 48. 
This species, though less common than the Green Turtle, is still 
frequently taken about the Bermudas, and is sold for food, though 
* Whether they would breed in confinement is doubtful, but very young ones 
could be secured in the West Indies in large numbers, and brought to Bermuda 
in vessels provided with wells. They are believed to grow rapidly, but I have 
seen no record as to the amount of increase of those that are frequently kept in 
the natural fish ponds, as at Walsingham ; nor do I know whether they receive 
an abundance of suitable food in those places. They will eat purslane (Portu- 
lacca oleracea) and grow fat on it (Holbrook and others). This weed is still 
used to feed them in the turtle ponds at Bermuda. Probably they would also. 
eat many other land plants, such as pumpkins and cabbages. 
+ At present it would probably be impossible to get the various governments, 
owning the islands on which the turtles breed, to codperate, to any great extent, 
in any such measures. They are more likely, as in the case of the fur seals, to 
wait until the species are exterminated before making laws to preserve them. 
Much might be done, however, by private owners taking up lands along the 
shores where they breed and protecting their nests and young, and raising the 
young for the nort hern markets. 
+ The generic name Caretta Merr., 1820, has clear priority over Hretmochelys 
Fitz., 1843 (as a subgenus), adopted by Agassiz, as a genus, in 1857. As used 
in 1820, it included also Thalassochelys Fitz., 1841, but the elimination of the 
latter restricted the name to the type, C. imbricata, for which it should be used. 
Another allied species (C. squamata Ag., Kr.) is found in the Pacific and Indian 
Oceans, and also occurs on the California coast. 
