GREEN TURTLE.
The Green turtle (Chelonia midas), which has been known to attain a length of seven feet, and a weight of 900 lbs., is most prized for its flesh; but the Hawksbill (Chelonia imbricata), which hardly reaches one-third of the size, is of far greater commercial value, the plates of its shell being stronger, thicker, and clearer than those of any other species. It is caught all over the tropical seas, but principally near the Moluccas, the West Indian, and the Feejee Islands, where it is preserved in pens by the chiefs, who have a barbarous way of removing the valuable part of the shell from the living animal. A burning brand is held close to the outer shell, until it curls up and separates a little from that beneath. Into the gap thus formed a small wooden wedge is then inserted, by which the whole is easily removed from the back. When stripped, the animal is again put into the pen, where it has full time for the growth of a new shell—for though the operation appears to give great pain, it is not fatal.
A similar cruel method of removing the tortoise’s shell by heat is resorted to in Ceylon; but the mode in which the flesh of the edible turtle is sold piecemeal, while it is still alive, by the fishermen of that island, is still more repulsive, and a disgrace to the Colonial Government which allows it to be openly practised. ‘The creatures,’ says Sir Emerson Tennent, ‘are to be seen in the market-place undergoing this frightful mutilation, the plastron and its integuments having been previously removed, and the animal thrown on its back, so as to display all the motions of the heart, viscera, and lungs. A broad knife, from twelve to eighteen inches in length, is first inserted at the left side, and the women, who are generally the operators, introduce one hand to scoop out the blood, which oozes slowly. The blade is next passed round till the lower shell is detached and placed to one side, and the internal organs exposed in full action. Each customer, as he applies, is served with any part selected, which is cut off as ordered, and sold by weight. Each of the fins is thus successively removed, with portions of the fat and flesh, the turtle showing by its contortions that each act of severance is productive of agony. In this state it lies for hours writhing in the sun, the heart and head being usually the last pieces selected; and till the latter is cut off, the snapping of the mouth, and the opening and closing of the eyes, show that life is still inherent, even when the shell has been nearly divested of its contents.’
The Coriaceous turtle (Sphargis coriacea), of a more elongated form than the other species, and whose outer covering, marked along its whole length by seven distinct, prominent, and tuberculated ridges, is not of a horny substance, but resembles strong leather, grows to the greatest size of all the marine chelonians, some having been taken above eight feet in length, and weighing no less than 1,600 lbs., so that even the crocodile can hardly be compared to it in bulk.
LOGGERHEAD.
While the land-tortoises can scarcely be said to have a voice, merely hissing or blowing when irritated or seized, the Coriaceous turtle, when taken in a net or seriously wounded, utters loud shrieks, or cries, that may be heard at a considerable distance—a power which, in an inferior degree, seems to belong to most of the fluviatile and marine chelonians.
The turtles generally live on marine plants, but the Caouana, or Loggerhead (Chelonia caouana), and the Hawksbill (C. imbricata), feed on crustaceans and cuttle-fish, which they can easily crush in their strong, horny beak. The Caouana and the Coriaceous turtles are frequently found in the Mediterranean, and on the coasts of South America and Africa. Both are of no commercial importance; their shell is almost useless, and their flesh, which, like that of the alligator, exhales a strong smell of musk, is extremely coarse and ill flavoured.
