Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-12-26
THEY GO INTO SOUP
TutIss Which coablbuss to the
Worlds Food Supply
MONSTER cHELoHIAHs THAT
Fr<asens the Ocean Dspshs and frsh
wAssr Iortotses Whtch Arc vai-
ued In the Makes.

Forty-two species Of scrtoi.es In
habit the United States and adjacent
seas. They furnish nearly Al Of TIE
reptilian food supply Of this country.
which Il Of great aggregate quantity,
and represeats . value Of hundreds Of
thousands Of dollars annually Among
them. says The So Louis Glooe-Demo-
erat are several gigantic kinds which
live Ina the ocean. and are remarkable
IN many Ways. These mAxine turtles
arc specially adapted 10 IN aquatic
mode Of existence. Their bodies hare
. specific gravity almost exactly equal
To that Of the water In which they are
Immersed. 80 that they ara able % sus-
tain themselves a. the surface for any
length Of time without fatigue. They
never 20 ashore except 10 lay eGg&
Their hind feet are used as rudders,
while the fore feet. with which they
propel themselves. have . motion sim
liar TO that of birds wings In fact.
all their movements ere more those Of
flying than of swimming.
These giant turtles src found ell
along the Atlantic coast. though IL l.
only In southern waters that they 60
cur In great NUMBER One of the
most powerful of them h the logger
head. which attains . weight of six
teen hundred pounds II Is . rapid
swimmer and Is often seen far from
land. floating on the waves asleep.
Carnivorous by nature. IL feeds on crabs
and fishes. and especially ON q large
species of conch. which IL breaks with
It's enormous Jaws and dcvours In large
quantities The flesh Of this tortoise
Is ieathery and oily with strong
smell OF musk. In the West Indies
formerly il was given 20 the slaves Tor
food. Young specimens. however. are
tolerably palatable. and are frequently
sold In the markets. A considerable
amount of oil may be obtained from
the loggerhead. but It's rank odor un-
fits IL for use in cooking. 1t has been
employed TO smear on the sides of yes
sells. which IL Is said 10 preserve from
shipworms, and TO soften certain
leathers- The scales forming the shell.
though bigger than those Of the tor
toise-shell turtle. arc very thin and apt
20 be wrinkled and filed with impuri-
ties. On that account they are not used
10 any great extent In the arts
The tortoise shell Of ths Florida and
Gulf coast IL found In many other parts
ofthe world. Itdoes NOT stain weigh,
Of more than three hupdred pounds.
It's diet IL exclusively Vegetable, but 4,
II much more fierce -tAsm the carnivor.
Gus and harmless Io9gerhead. II bites
severely and in6icts painful wounds,
20 that fishermen have 70 be on their
guard against It's attae1tA The scales
or plates that cover it, bony shell form
the tortoise shen Of commerce. They
are arranged In three Rowe, the central
containing Eve plates and each of the
lateral rows four plateA In addition
the margin of the shell has twenty
FIVE small plates The eolors rreferred
are mingled golden yellow, rsddisf
Jasper and white or brown A variety
In which much white occurs Ii highly
esteemed. especially BY the Chinese. II
IL known as blonde she'll" The bes'
tortoise shell comes from the Indiar
archipelago. The material Is initiated
beautifully In cows horn, % that only
IN expert can tell, the difference
Combs made from the golden yellow
under shell of this tortoise are eagerl,
sought by Spanish ladies, fetchins
from fifteen to twenty dollars apiece
Another great marine tortoise Is the
green turtle. famous in soup. In siz.
IL comes between the loggerhesd ans
tortoise-shell. reaching q wcight'of on,
thousand pounds II lives mostly II
deep water. feeding on piants especial
ly on one called turtle grass" This
IL cuts of near the roots, to procure th,
most tender and succulent part, whicl
alone Is eaten. while the rest of tn,
plant floats to the surface and Is Their
collected In large fields-a sure indica
ton that the feeding ground of the an
imAls h near. The latter. after brows
ing for awhile In these pastures of sea
weed. seek the mouths of rivers =
bathe In fresh water. which seems 3
be necessary for them from time b
time. In Florida the green turtle
said by turtle fishers to enter th
creeks which abound on that coas,
and, having eaten It's all of the ses
grass growing there. TO roll togethe
masses of IL "a big as . mans head
which IL cements with clay. Tier
when the turn OF the tide takes III
ball out 10 sea, the turtle follows II
feeding on H. When. therefore, th
fishermen find any Of these balls Goa
ing down q creek. they at once spres
strong net across the mouth and a
ways secure q number % the tortoise,
The flesh attached 20 the upper shell
known In cookery ~ ''calipash." Will
that attached TO the lower shell
called "cslipee.~
There are . good many families c
edible frc.h-water tortoises which liy
I'm rivers. ponds and marshes Anon
these are several species Of soft-shelle
turtles. which are frequently seen
the markets. their Gesh being said /
be even superior to the green turtle
They are taken with hook and iin'
Swapping rrcedily ~ any kind OF fsi
They feed on small fishes. snsils and
variety q vegetable mastsr. Most fr'
qusntiy they are seen along the ma
gins of siuggish and shallow stream