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gostura. The shore of Uruana funishes one 

 thousand botijas * or jars of oil (manteca) 

 annually. The price of each jar at the capital 

 of Guiana, vulgarly called Angostura, is from 

 two piastres to two and a half. We may admit, 

 that the total produce of the three shores, where 

 the cosecha or gathering of eggs is annually 

 made, is five thousand botijas. Now as two 

 hundred eggs yield oil enough to fill a bottle, or 

 iimeta, it requires five thousand eggs for a jar 

 or batija of oil. Estimating at one hundred, or 

 one hundred and sixteen, the number of eggs, 

 that one tortoise produces ; and reckoning that 

 one third of these is broken at the time of laying, 

 particularly by the mad tortoises ; we may pre- 

 sume, that, to obtain annually five thousand 

 jars of oil, three hundred and thirty thousand 

 arrau tortoises, the weight of which amounts to 

 one hundred and sixty-five thousand quintals, 

 must come and lay thirty-three millions of eggs 

 on the three shores appropriated to this harvest. 

 The results of these calculations are much below 

 the truth. Many tortoises lay only sixty or 

 seventy eggs ; and a great number of these ani- 

 mals are devoured by jaguars at the moment 

 they get out of the water. The Indians bring 

 away a great number of eggs to eat them dried 



* Bach botija. contains twenty-five bottles : it's capacity is 

 from 1000 to 1200 cubic inches. 



