The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1897-12-08
A CRUEL OPERATION.
THE PROCESS BY WHICH TORTOISE
SHELL is PROCURED.

Which He Lives A business That
struck an Observer rs Bearttess.
There are many articles of daily and
hourly use constantly passing before
our eyes and through our hands about
the production of which we know com
paratively little or nothing. An inter
esting example of this is tortoise shell.
from which combs and hairpins are
made. besides multitude of trinkets
for tho dressing table, the desk and
the pocket. Fierce crusades have been
instituted i'll recent years against the
slaughter of birds for the procurement
of their plumagc for hat trimmings,
and yet | venture to say that the proc
ess of procuring tortoise she'll is u cru-
city to animal life which far exceeds
that to which birds are subjected
In the eighties happened to be down
ill Blueticlds, ON that awful Mosquito
coast, and at tho invitatisA of one
captain of small schooner, went with
him to the cay FL Roncador for tortoise
she'll. This cay gets its name (Which i'll
English would be the Snorer) from the
exceedingly angry surf, which can be
heard for Il long distance breaking over
the reefs. This is the cay on which u
couple of years back tho historic old
ship kcarsarge was wrecked and bat
tered to pieces. I'll Roncador il nothing
moro or less than a typical coral is
land such rs il found throughout the
southern seas, three quarters Of mile
long, perhaps, and not more than II
quarter of mile across its widest part.
Surrounding tho island is reef, inside
of which the water is smooth and rath.
shallow water there grows II peculiar
kind of sea grass which in u dainty
food for the turtle tribes. There is also
found on the top of the water inside the
reef II sort of small blubber fish, called
i'll Spanish dedalcs, or thimble fish,
which is perhaps the greatest delioacy
of the entire turtle menu.
The turtle whose shell is valued in
commerce is small species known as
tho hawk bill. There are other varie-
ties which come to FL Ronoador to
spawn, but they are not molested Dur
ing the night the turtles crawl up on
the shore To lay their eggs. each female
dcpOsiting On an average about %. To
do this they dig holes i'll the sand about
two feet deep and after laying the eggs
cover them over so deftly that II is nj
most impossible for novice 10 find
them. These eggs ara really delicious
when roasted, hut the turtle fishers are
careful not tn destroy those they do not
take for food, SO as to promote as much
rs possible tho increase Of this valuable
sea reptile. At night the fishers conceal
themselves along the shore MS we'll an
possible, and when the turtles come up
out of the water ON the beach they rush
forth and turn them over on their backs
with iron hooks, leaving them secure in
this position until morning
The tortoise shell of commerce is not a,
as is generally believed, the horny cover
ing or shell proper of the turtle; il is
tho scales which cover the shield. These
scales arc l3 in number, s of them be.
ing fiat and the other somewhat curved.
-Four of those that are fiat are quito
large, sometimes being as much az IL
inches long and inches broad, nearly
transparent and beautifully variegated
III color with red, yellow, white and
dark brown clouds, which give tho eff
fccts so fully brought out when the shell
IL properly polished. A turtle of aver
age size will furnish about eight pounds
of these laminR or scales, each piece
being from an eighth to a quarter Of an
inch in thickness
1t is the method by which these scales
are loosened which is the repulsive part
of the business. The turtles arc not
killed, MS that would lead to their tx.
termination in very few years, After
capturing them the fishers wait for day
light to complete the work. The turtles
are turned over again in their natural
position and fastened firmly to the
ground by means of pegs. Then bunch
of dried leaves or sea grass is spread
evenly over the back of the turtle and
set aflre. The heat is not great enough
to injure the shell, merely causing it to
separate the joints. A large blade, very
similar in shape to chemist = spatula,
is then inserted horizontally between
tho lamin|, which ara gently pried
from the back. Great care must be tax
en- not to injure tho shell by too much
heat, and yet it is not forced Off until IL
IL fully prepared for separation by a
sufficient amount of warmth
The operation, as one may readily
imagine, is the extreme of cruelty, and
many turtles do not survive it, Most of
them do live, however, and thrive, and
IN time grow n new covering, just as
IL man will grow new finger nail in
place of one ho might lose. The pccul-
iarity Of the second growth of shell,
though, is that instead of reproducing
the original number Of 8 scgments it is
restored in one solid piece.
To sec the operation Of taking the
shell from the living turtle once is
about all man Of northern breeding
wants of it, and if the helpless reptiles
had tho power Of voicing their suffer
ings under it their cries would tell of
as heartless business as man has vet
engaged in.--New York Post.