PRODUCTS FROM THE SEA
'
355
animal.
It is obtained from the hawksbill of'caret turtles
(Plate 124), species of whichliveinwarm waters throughout
the Indian and Pacic Oceans and in the Atlantic fromBrazil in South‘America to the Carolinas in North America:
They are extremely ferociouS beasts with powerful jaws—
toothless as in all turtles but ;ärmed with horny plates——
‘
with which they seize the sh; cruStaceans and large
:
molluscs on which they feed.
They are usually caught
_ '
When they come ashore, especially in the breeding season
when they lay their eggs in the sand,
,
The shell, of which
the best quality is found on the oldest turtles, is very thick
'
and has to be separated from the underlying bone by. heat.
j
It can then be moulded to the-desired shapeby—immersing
it in hot water.
These turtles have been
in such
'
exported from,
Philippines alone. in 1909—and:
before; bree'ding
that they are in serious danger, unless
measures
are enforced, of becoming externäinated. —, :.
“
The esli of the hawk‘sbillis of very
_
as in the maj0ritÿ of tuftles,‘ the eggs are much sought after '
as food.
The green turtle‘S (Platé124), found in the Atlantic
and Pacic and Indian Oceans," are : the ‘
most.
‘
of the edible turtles and the.;source
of turtle ”soup;
are vègetarians, br0wsihg on ;the roots; of
_
the; eelgrass,xthe
bitten stalks of whichrise; to the
‘
the shermen the;;Whereabouts
are
{" ugpg11y caüghtf in
of a heavy ring ‘
which is attached a”
the
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.:end.
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