XII, D, 4 Seale: Sea Products of Mindanao and Sulu 203 



of the back are smooth and do not overlap. The green turtle 

 is valued chiefly as food, the shell being thin and of no use ex- 

 cept for veneer. Green turtles are very common, easily domes- 

 ticated, and form a valuable food supply. In Spain an industry 

 of importance consists of canning the meat and soup of the 

 green turtle. Such an industry vv^ould be possible in Mindanao. 



Breeding places and habits of the sea turtles. — The small out- 

 lying islands of the Sulu Archipelago, such as Bancoran, Lum- 

 bucan, the Pearl Banks, and several islets near Sibutu, are 

 famous turtle resorts. The turtles come ashore on the sandy 

 beaches to deposit their eggs. At this time they are captured 

 by the turtle hunters. On one small sandy islet I counted twenty- 

 four heads of turtles that had been recently killed. 



The food of the haw^ksbiil turtle consists almost exclusively 

 of crabs, shrimps, and mollusks. A specimen that I kept 

 in captivity for one year v^ould not eat fish, dead or alive, under 

 any condition. The green turtle will eat fish to a limited extent, 

 but seems to prefer shellfish and sea weeds. The loggerhead 

 lives exclusively on fish. 



The sea turtles thrive in captivity with but little attention. 

 Many of the inclosed lagoons of the Sulu Sea would make ideal 

 turtle farms. Sortie of the Moros in the vicinity of Siasi and 

 South Ubian capture young turtles and confine them in corrals 

 or in pens until they are adult. This plan could be easily enlarged 

 upon by closing the entrance of a small lagoon, thus forming a 

 turtle farm similar to the famous one on Ascension Island. 



Uses for tortoise shell. — The manufacturing of combs, jewel 

 boxes, brush backs, and various ornaments from tortoise shell 

 is an established industry in almost every civilized country. 

 About 8,000 kilograms of tortoise shell valued at 100,000 pesos 

 are gathered in the Philippine Islands each year. A manufac- 

 turing establishment to use this supply of shell could be located 

 at Zamboanga or Jolo. Such a factory would require but little 

 capital, probably not over 5,000 pesos. The manufactured arti- 

 cles would have free entry into the United States, thus avoiding 

 the 50 per cent duty. 



At the present time practically all Philippine tortoise shell 

 is shipped to Japan, where it is manufacture into combs 

 and other articles, which pay 50 per cent duty into the United 

 States and are sold at a profit. 



If private capital is not forthcoming for this work, it might 

 be desirable to send an intelligent student to Japan to work in 

 a tortoise-shell factory and learn the business. 



