46 TORTOISES, TERRAPINS, AND TURTLES 



Florida coast are sent north, by steamer and rail, to supply 

 the ever-greedy and high-priced city markets from Baltimore 

 northward. 



And really, it is not surprising that the flesh of this ani- 

 mal is considered most excellent food, and much sought after, 

 both for soups and steaks. It is tender, fine-grained, dark- 

 colored, not too fat and very agreeable in flavor. Moreover, 

 this is a clean-looking animal, its shell is smooth, its head 

 is small and neatly formed, and the front flippers are scaled 

 quite down to their extremities. The shell is of no com- 

 mercial value. 



The Hawksbill Turtle, or Tortoise-Shell Turtle,^ 

 furnishes the valuable tortoise-shell of commerce, and it is 

 the most beautiful of all the Chelonians. Its name is de- 

 rived from the strongly hooked beak which terminates its 

 upper jaw. Its back is covered with a roof of very beautiful 

 curved plates of tortoise-shell, overlapping like shingles, each 

 scale terminating in a saw-tooth point. The scales are clear 

 yellowish horn, beautifully mottled with black and brown. 



This species is yet found occasionally around the Ba- 

 hama Islands, where the sea is very clear, and the white- 

 sand bottom is liberally garnished with sea-fans, corals, and 

 other beautiful invertebrate forms. Its range as a whole is 

 from the coast of southern Florida, the Bahamas and the 

 Gulf of Mexico, southward through the West Indies to the 

 x\mazon. It also inhabits the tropical waters of the Old 

 World. 



Formerly it often grew to a weight of between 20 and 30 



' Che-lo'ne im-bri-ca'ta. 



