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 In 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 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. 
