St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-06-20
HANDLING LARGE TURTLES.
Interesting Particulars of q Busin %
That IL Done ON Large Scale
In New York City.

That IL Done ON Large Scale
In New York City.
Down in Fulton Market lisa big burly
man nicknamed Turtle Bill who
probably knows more about turtles
than any other expert in this town.
For Is years bill" has handled tur-
ties of every sort, from the 15-pound
"snappers" that will take finger OFF
as if it were toothpick, to the great
200-pound green turtles often seen "
ing on their backs with tied clippers"
outside of restaurants, says the New
York Times.
Its no easy thing to handle big tur-
Ties explained Bill, patting the un-
der shell of monster lying in his
"overcoat" in well-known storeroom
maintained by big turtle dealer.
Some of the big, green chaps are
pretty heavy lot-we'ye had one here
tipping the scale at 500 pounds-and
when it comes to handling swapping
turtles it means to be careful or you'll
lose a finger quick as a, wink, y and the
man held forth the stump of fore
finger. Il had that taken off in this
room, and it went quicker'n could say
Jack Robinson" he explained.
where do most of your turtles
come from?s was asked.
From the warm parts of the Allan
tic ocean, especially from the coasts OF
Florida and the West Indies and the
South American countries. This time
Of the year turtle meat is about as ex-
I,ensive as it ever gets, the prices
varying from Is cents to 80 cents
pound, according to the season. Tur-
ties would be much cheaper than they
are were it not for the losses while
shipping them to New York. Most of
the animals are landed here in lots of
twenties or thiYties from the coast
schooners that touch the turtle coun-
tries and speculate a little in open
market. The masters of these schoon-
ers buy the animals at little or moth
ing-say, 2 or 4 cents pound-and
they sell them to US at from s to IS
cents, leaving fair margin of profit.t
But there is no regular organized tur-
tie trade between this port or any
southern one for the reason that the
freight is too perisha BILE. On the whole
we figure on two shipments of turtles
happening into port each week. The
animals are brought here and stored
to find whether they are alive or not.
By tapping the shell of the turtle, he'll
bob out his head to see what's the
trouble. But most of the poor brutes
die on the way up from their countries.
"The smaller turtles are caught in
nets. The big fellows are caught by
hand when they venture ashore to lay
eggs. The natives know the habits of
the turtles, and lay for them along the
sandy beaches where the deposit of
the eggs takes place. A turtle is spied
poking her head out of the water for
a convenient spot where to lay her
eggs deep in a sand hole. No attempt
is made to catch the animal until the
eggs have been laid and covered up
and until the turtle is again heading to
get back to the water. Them it is in
tercepted and driven shoreward and
overtaken and turned on its back,
after which its fippers are tied. In
this position it is loaded into ships and
brought north.
I'm summer it is comparatively
easy to keep turtles in storage, but
during cold weather they must be
watched carefully to keep them alive.
As soon as winter begins they are
stored in u room where, throughout
the season, a stove is kept red hot.
More, each turtle is provided with an
overcoat, consisting of burlap bags to
keep out the cold and maintain an even
temperature about the big, hard
shells. As YOU see, each turtle has
little pillow on which to rest his head.
When turtle lies on it's back it is .
long stretch from its head to the
floor, and the Humane society pre-
scribes that the animals must be
housed in comfort until ready to kill.
Many fiction stories are told of how
turtles are killed for the market. The
way we do, and the only way the
butchering is done in this country, is
to take the rest from under the anil
mails head so it stretches forth its
neck. Then tie head is cut of.
ANY difference in the quality Of the
meat depedent on the age of turtle?
None at all. AL are alike. The meat
of the Oldest turtle seems as tender
and delicious as that of the youngster
brought in by the same shipment. OF
late years there is an increasing de-
mand for turtle meat throughout New
York. The taste is an acquired one,
the same as that of olives, but it seems
to take hold On the people more and