The St. Johns herald., 1894-04-19
EDIBLE REPTILES.
Turtles Which Contribute to the
 Worlds Food Supply.

Monster Chelonians That Frequent the
 Ocean Depths and Fresh Water Tor.
 toises Which Are Highly Valued
 in the Markets.
 Forty-two species of tortoises in- habit the United States and adjacent seas. They furnish nearly all of the reptilian food supply of this country, which is of great aggregate quantity, and represents value of hundreds of 1 thousands of dollars annually Among them, says the St. Louis Glo.be-Demo- crat, are several gigantic kinds which l live in the ocean, and are remarkable 1 in many ways. These marine turtles are specially adapted to an aquatic mode of existence. Their bodies have a specific gravity almost exactly equal to that of the water in which they are immersed, so that they are able to sus- tain themselves at the surface for any length of time without fatigue. They never go ashore except to lay eggs. Their hind feet are used as rudders, while the fore feet, with which they propel themselves, have a motion sim liar to that of birds wings. In fact, all their movements are more those of flying than of swimming.
 These giant turtles are found all along the Atlantic coast, though it is only in southern waters that they oc- cur in great numbers. One of the most powerful of them is the logger head, which attains a weight of six teen hundred pounds. It is a rapid swimmer and is often seen far from land, floating on the waves asleep. Carnivorous by nature, it feeds on crabs and fishes, and especially on a large species of conch. which it breaks with it's enormous jaws and devours in large quantities. The flesh of this tortoise is leathery and oily, with strong smell of musk. In the West Indies formerly it was given to the slaves for 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 it for use in cooking. It has been employed to smear on the sides of yes sels, which it is said to preserve from shipworms, and to soften certain feathers. The scales forming the shell, though bigger than those of the tor toise-sheu turtle, are very thin and apt to be wrinkled and filled with impuri- ties. On that account they are not used to any great extent in the arts.
 The tortoise shell of the Florida and Gulf coast is found in many other parts of the world. It does not attain weight of more than three hundred pounds. Its diet is exclusively vegetable, but it is much more fierce than the carnivor- ous and harmless loggerhead. It bites severely and inhicts painful wounds, so that fishermen have to be on their guard against it's attacks. The scales or plates that cover it's bony shell form the tortoise shell of commerce. They are arranged in three rows, the central containing five plates and each of the lateral rows four plates. In addition the margin of the shell has twenty five small plates. The colors preferred are mingled golden yellow, reddish jasper and white or brown. A variety in which much white occurs is highly esteemed, especially by the Chinese. It is known as blonde she'll" The best tortoise shell comes from the Indian archipelago. The material is initiated beautifully in cows horn, so that only an expert can tell the difference Combs made from the golden yellow under shell of this tortoise are eagerly sought by Spanish ladies, fetching from fifteen to twenty dollars apiece.
 Another great marine tortoise is the green turtle, famous in soup. In size it comes between the loggerhead and tortoise-shen, reaching a weight of one thousand pounds It lives mostly in deep water, feeding on plants, especial ly on one called turtle grass This it cuts off near the roots, to procure the most tender and succulent part, which alone is eaten, while the rest of the plant floats to the surface and is there collected in large fields-a sure indica- tion that the feeding ground of the an- imals is near. The latter, after brows- ing for awhile in these pastures of sea- weed, seek the mouths of rivers to bathe in fresh water, which seems to be necessary for them from time to tune. In Florida the green turtle Is said by turtle fishers to enter the creeks which abound on that coast. and, having eaten it's fill of the sea- grass growing there, to roll together masses of it as big as mans head, which it cements with clay. Then, when the turn of the tide takes tlie ball out to sea, the turtle follows it, feeding on it. When, therefore, the fishermen find any of these balls float ing down a creek, they at once spread a strong net across the mouth and al- ways secure number of the tortoises. The flesh attached to the upper shelli is known in cookery as ''calipash, while that attached to the lower shell is called ''calipee."
 There are a good many families of edible fresh, water tortoises which live in rivers, ponds and marshes. Among these are several species of soft-shelled turtles which are fran1la0flv Saar in