THE SEA-TURTLES 



331 



and large-headed understudy of the green turtle. 

 It is readily distinguished, however, by its mas- 

 sive head, and thick, heavy shell. It is a turtle 

 of coarser quality every way than the green tur- 

 tle, and sells at a lower price. Like its hand- 

 somer relative, it is widely distributed, but does 

 not inhabit the Indian Ocean. 



The flesh of this animal bears so close a resem- 

 blance to beefsteak that even a butcher cannot 

 always detect the difference. One Christmas 

 morning, at Key West, I dissected a large Log- 

 gerhead. The flesh was fresh, and very tempt- 

 ing, and when a choice lot of steaks were offered 

 to the landlady of a certain small hotel, they were 

 gratefully accepted. 



It happened that the butcher who supplied 

 the hotel with beef and mutton was a boarder 

 thereat ; and, as became his calling, he sat at the 

 head of the long table, and served the meat. 

 Although he was an able butcher, he had one 

 weakness ; and it lay in the fact he could not eat 

 turtle-meat. It was "too oily," too "musky," and 

 too far removed from beefsteak. 



With no unnecessary announcements, the tur- 

 tle-steaks were fried, A la beefsteak, and set be- 

 fore the butcher. He served them as beefsteak, 

 ate his own portion with evident relish, and all 

 the other guests ate theirs. The butcher had 

 nearly finished his second instalment, without 

 having discovered the substitution, when he 

 was asked how he liked turtle-steaks, for a 

 change. 



The sandy beach on the east coast of Florida, 

 along the Indian River Peninsula, is a favorite 

 spot for both Loggerhead and green turtles to 

 lay their eggs. Mrs. C. F. Latham, of Oak 

 Lodge, ninety miles above Palm Beach, has 

 made careful observations on the habits of these 



turtles. In the months of May and June, when 

 the summer heat is becoming severe, on moon- 

 light nights the turtles crawl up out of the water, 

 dig holes in the sand high above tide-mark, from 

 15 to 18 inches deep, and in them lay their eggs, 

 to the number of from 80 to 220. The period re- 

 quired for incubation is about sixty days. When 

 first hatched the young are only 2\ inches long, 

 but the moment they emerge from the nest they 

 start for the ocean. 



LEATHERY-SHELLED SEA-TURTLES. 



Dermochelydidae. 



The Harp-Turtle, or Lyre-Turtle, 1 is the 



giant of the Chelonians of the present day. Some- 

 times it is called the Leather-Backed Turtle. 



I once dissected and preserved a specimen which 

 weighed 740 pounds, and the oil and the toil of it 

 are yet vividly remembered. 



This remarkable creature has a very feeble 

 bony shell, which is buried under a one-inch layer 

 of fatty material which looks quite like the blub- 

 ber of a whale. It is easily cut with a knife, and 

 contains about a pint of oil for every square foot. 

 The back of this strange creature is marked by 

 five sharp ridges that run lengthwise, and are 

 separated by concave, wave-like depressions. 

 The front flippers are very long, and it seems 

 quite certain that even in its native element this 

 great animal is slow and clumsy. Its flesh is 

 quite unfit for food. 



This turtle is found very sparingly along the 

 Atlantic coast from Long Island southward, but 

 is abundant nowhere. One may travel all around 

 Florida, and all through the West Indies without 

 seeing even one specimen. 



1 Sphar'gis co-ri-a'ce-a. 



