| Water, | 70.80 | percent |
| Water-free substance, | 29.20 | „ |
| Protein, | 25.38 | „ |
| Fat, | 1.00 | „ |
| Crude ash, | 2.58 | „ |
| Extractives, | 0.24 | „ |
| Nitrogen, | 4.06 | „ |
| Total edible portion, | 100.00 | „ |
The above data show that the shrimp in the canned state has less water in it than in the fresh state, and contains one-fourth of its weight of protein.
Aquatic Reptiles.
—All forms of turtle may be used for edible purposes, both of the fresh-water and salt-water species. Both the turtle and terrapin are amphibious animals; that is, they can live either in the water or on the land. Among the turtles the marine variety known as the green turtle is most highly prized for food purposes. Its Latin name is Chelonia mydas. It grows sometimes to an enormous size, weighing several hundred pounds, and specimens weighing 50 and 100 pounds are not unusual. It is utilized chiefly for making soup, and green turtle soup is considered of high quality by experts. The flesh is also edible, and in the making of some varieties of green turtlesoup pieces of the flesh are included.
Composition of the Green Turtle.
—The edible portion of the green turtle has the following composition:
| Water, | 79.78 | percent |
| Protein, | 19.83 | „ |
| Fat, | .53 | „ |
| Ash, | 1.20 | „ |
The edible portion of the green turtle is not very large in proportion to its weight, as it forms only from 20 to 24 percent of the whole weight of the turtle.
Among the reptiles there are several aquatic species which are used as food. The most noted of these is the diamond-back terrapin, which is found in the salt-water bays, lagoons, and marshes of our Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Texas. Its center of greatest abundance is in Chesapeake Bay. There is no fish or other water animal that has a higher value for edible purposes than the terrapin. The extreme delicacy of its flavor, the richness of its aroma, and its easy digestibility give to it a rank which perhaps no other usual food product possesses. In addition to this the increased scarcity of the terrapin, especially the more famous variety of it, namely, the diamond-back, has gradually increased the cost until at the present time the terrapin is eaten only by the rich. In the United States it exists along the whole Atlantic coast from New York southward and also along the Gulf coast. Formerly it was most abundant on the Maryland coast, but the nearness of this field to the great markets of the country has resulted in such a depletion of the stock as to make the terrapin very scarce. Many attempts have been made at artificial growing of terrapin and these have been more or less successful, but have not met with pronounced success which has been expected. The enclosure in which the terrapin are kept, viz., the “crawl,” is a feature in the artificial cultivation or breeding of these marine vertebrates. It is to be hoped that greater success in the future will attend the artificial breeding of terrapin, since the natural stock seems well on the way to extinction.