206 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



of the " toontoong," or.river-turtle (which last are of an 

 oval shape) are eagerly searched for and sold at the rate 

 of half-a-doUar the hundred. The eggs of the river- 

 turtle are less oily than the round eggs of the sea-turtle. 

 A single turtle will sometimes lay 250 to 300 eggs two 

 or three times during the year. A considerable com- 

 merce is carried on in turtles' eggs at the mouth of the 

 Amazon. The eggs are laid at different times according 

 to the locality ; in May and June at the Tortugas ; that 

 of June, according to Audubon, is the most considerable ; 

 from September to January on the coast of Isini, in 

 Africa, according to Dampier. At the Tortugas certain 

 parts of the sand are generally known to contain the eggs 

 laid by hundreds of turtles. 



The eggs of the greaved tortoise of South America 

 {Podocnemis expansa) are large, spherical and white, and 

 form an important part of the diet of the Indians. They 

 dry these eggs by placing them on boards in the smoke 

 of a .fire. 



The eggs of the river tortoises of Africa are as large 

 as those of the pigeon. They have an excellent taste ; 

 the white, which never becomes hard by the heat of the 

 fire, preserves the transparency of a bluish jelly. The 

 close tortoise {Testudo clausa) is much sought for in North 

 America on account of its eggs, which, like those of the 

 African variety, are reckoned a delicacy. 



The eggs of the long necked tortoise of Australia (CAefo- 

 dina longicoUis), which are deposited in the beginning of 

 January, amount to about fifteen or twenty, perhaps even 

 more, and are consumed in quantities by the natives. 



The eggs of the terrestrial tortoises are generally 

 spherical and covered with a calcareous shell of consider- • 

 able firmness. Some species, however, deposit elongated 

 eggs, and others eggs longer at one end than the other, 

 resembling those of a bird. 



The eggs of the box tortoises or terrapins {Cistudo 

 Carolina) are accounted excellent, and are much sought 

 after. 



Alligators' Uggs.— The female alligator lays about 120 



