Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-02-02

Waters OEHOSt uSuSS anu Su0410Sn or all sorts contribute to the diet of these tortoises.
 s'Turtie eggs are an acquired taste with most people, although they are not so with beara They have round, yellow yolk and white like any other eggs, but you can cook them for year and the white part will remain liquid. We sell them mostly to colored folks Notice the curious dimple in the side of each one. If you squeeze it out the dimple appears on the other side, and you can never get hold of tur- ties egg which hasn't got dimple in.
 "Most of the green turtles that reach the northern market come from south ern Florida, but there is another species on the Pacific coast. They grow big ger as you go farther south. In this latitude they aren't often found larger than eight pounds, but at Cedar Keys they reach thousand pounds in weight. They live in deep water and feed on sea plants, mostly the kind called tar tie grass which they cut off near the roots, eating the lower parts and leav- ing the tops floating, so that it collects in great fields and marks the spots where the animals are to be hunted by the fishermen.
 "After browsing on such ocean past ures the green turtles go the mouths of rivers for baths in fresh water, which they seem to need from time to time. The Florida fishermen say the reptiles enter the creeks and roll together masses of grass, cementing them into balls with clay. When the turn of the tide takes the balls out to sea they fol- low them. The fishermen watch for such balls floating down the creeks, and when they see them they stretch nets across the mouths of the streams and always catch the turtles.
 ''In springtime the female green tur. tie seeks the shore of a barren island or the bank of a lonely river to lay her eggs. Being very shy, she makes a landing at night cautiously and crawls to a point above high-water mark, where she digs hole one or two feet deep with her fippers In this hole she lays from one hundred to two hundred eggs, arranging them very carefully. Finally she scoops the loose sand over the eggs, leveling and smoothing it So that is hardly possible to tell that there is nest there. The Tortugas islands arc favorite haunt for green turtles. Pelicans and other big birds frequent the breeding grounds and snap up the young ones as they m Ike for the water dare say that you know that the green flesh attached to the upper shell is called 'calipash, while the yellow flesh attached to the lower shell is called 'calipee.' From the eggs an oil is ob- tained, but what is called turtle oir soap is really made from beef fat. |. shell turtle is eaten, but it is not good l for much. There are two species-the 'tortoise-shelr and the 'hawksbill'- with not much difference between | them. Although their diet is veg etable one they are much more fierce than the carnivorous loggerhead. They bite very severely, and those who cat h them sometimes receive painful wounds. I have understood that the finest tortoise-shell comes from the In- dian archipelago and is shippei from ! Singapore, but much of it is obtained on the Florida coast. There are three rows of plates on the back, called blades by the fishermen. In the cen- tral row are five plates, and in each of the other four plates. the latter con- taining the best material Besides | CnoSe Gnere dT0 CWcnCV-nVe Snall plaIeS around the edge of the shell, known as feet or noses The biggest turtle does not furnish more than sixteen pounds of tortoise she'll Formerly the under shell was thrown away, being considered worthless, but at present it is very highly valued for its delicacy of coloring. Nowadays a very beauti- full imitation of tort oise shell is made ] out of cows horns. Hunting for the great sea tortoises affords good living to many thousands of fishermen in the l world d"-Washington Star.