Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1889-11-14
TOOTHS0ME TURTLES.
AN INDUSTRY WHICH FLOUR
ISHEs ON THE GULF COAST.

| AN lNDOoI I'M hlOH rAOOn-
IsHEs ON THE GULF COAST.
Traits Of Turtles-The Pairing Sea-
son--Solid Columns of Turtles
Various Species.
Writing about the turtle catching in
dustry on the Florida coast the Chicago
Times says: The quickest method Of
getting heavy turtle into boat is to
seize it by the fore fippers, pull them
in gradually until half the body is
alb I'd, then run to the opposite side
and sit down heavily on the gunwa'e.
Green turtles, which are the only
species that run in shoals, have regular
feeding grounds and return to thom
each evening as regularly as chickens
visit their roosts, except during the
summer, when the heaviest and most
daring start in quest Of deeper and
cooler water. These resorts are known
as ''turtle sets" or ''harbors," and the
man who is most familiar with the coast
is the one most likely to know them and
make the biggest hauls during the sea-
son. The "sets" are generally close to
sand banks and freely covered with the
marine grass called zostua mariana, this
being the favorite food of the chelonia
viridis.
When shoals are feeding they cut up
| vast quantities of this vegetation, and,
not being able to eat it all, the current
carries it in every direction and often
piles it in heaps along the shore. Far
mers who know its utility gather it for
their compost heaps, the salt, soda. and
other ingredients it possesses making it
valuable fertilizer for potatoes and
other crops requiring humidity.
Turtles, Ike fish, feed with the tides,
and as soon as they have eaten enough
sink to the bottom and burrow deep
holes in which they lie concealed until
feeding time AGAIN or they start off on
a padding excursion.
The profusion Of green turtles in the
Gulf Of Mexico during the pairing
period is scarcely conceivable by those
who have never seen them whilst search
ing for nesting grounds. It would be
mere guessing to estimate their num-
bers, but whoever wishes to try it can
get basis to commence on by assuming
that they extend in almost q dense.
solid mass over an area of three square
miles, being so closely packed that
man can walk on their backs for two
miles or more without running the risk
of ducking. ''Solid columns are the
only words that can give an accurate
idea Of their numbers. The members
Of this army may weigh from five
pounds to 700 pounds, but the average
weight of those caught in seines runs
from twenty to $50 pounds, the largest
kind being abe to break through the
meshes. The nets employed vary from
100 feet to as many yards in length,
have depth ranging from eight to sixty
feet, and meshes between twelve and
eighteen inches diagonally.
Turtles begin pairing in March and
April and laying in May, though the
nesting season is not supposed to COM
mence in earnest until the full moon
in June. The reptiles come ashore then
in battalions, divisions, and corps, and
after accommodating the beach for foes
scramble to the highest points as soon
as they feel assured Of their own safety.
They never dig nest where il is liable
to be overfowed by the sea, instinct
seeming to teach them the maximum
distance to which the highest tide runs.
When they reach grounds that suit
1iem reney Deln0 as particniar as hens
aoout Ine apPea1ance OF 2 locai,tv-they
ulE circu,a! NOES ABOUT Two 1eet deep
nnu looc ~ uianie'er Win tneir hlnd
T nj ana deposit tn ea eggs IN them.
anese n.inpe sn ltym I1o 70 zoV, tne av,
e oeage Delng 10y. !nougn ! nave heard OF
10Y Deing lounu ~ nest.
une 81 tne mosI Curious traiss ABOUT q
culsie ~ ~ 1ear'essness wnlie laying
snu 10 umluLey peLoIe commenclng.'
~ cunnE asnuo ~ search OF Q nest
ngpiacs y war5sy scans Tvs surround
ings Anu - ae'uy ~ :cueeie % sea on
pGlo u - my susplcious oolect, put
wneh ha - 70 Ems 5o uaopp,nG ~ eggs man
" uol :; :.'" y ""u. VI a's nach witnout
Whan 3 Ios ,.;d o -, ~ WIKI ); an eye.
Mnen !. nas 'aiu - us eggs u scrapes
i Iat sr ;tsaif o - i;erL a oscr snem ana
fnnr laos cn,nes dngr ~ tls n us
nsataJiv With oil n. ro; ~, nu n. IS.
poos a;e " maoLaI t;ch.1a lane un.ll tne
i e5s 20 1anai - ,ss st{a anu 1ue nes1
hnao I 80 INT NV. 1o Wy osner part Oh inc
ord n Joas not corr ~ ssl' LURES seawara;
s i IL a. ~ Nv reatarna Ia:n an1 e
Hs'AS,te " W ~ ~ uA0u1Iu0l lubUlucGs