TORTOISE-SHELL.
Ecaille de tortue, . FR. Sisk, Kurakura, MALAY. Schilpad, . . . . GER. Sisik panu, . . . „ Kachakra, Gu.T., Him). ICulit-panu, . . . „ Scaglia de tartaruga, The scales of the turtle are extensively used in the manufacture of combs, snuff-boxes, in inlaying, etc. The goodness of tortoise-shell depends mainly on the thickness and size of the scales, and partly on the clearness and brilliancy of the colours. The tortoise-shell of the Eastern Archi pelago is considered superior to that obtained from Singa.pore, the African coast, the West Indies, the Laccadive and Maldive Islands. In Ceylon, at Point de Galle, the marginal pieces:of tortoise - shell are used in the manufacture of bracelets and necklaces fornaed of a chain of shell; those resembling amber in appearance bear a higher price than such as are formed of the darker shell. In Ceylon tlaere is a great demand for tortoise-shell for the manufacture of combs, which are worn by men as well as women among the Singhalese. In the numerous excesses into which English costume has been carried, the size of tho back comb worn by ladies has never attained that of the Singhalese men, who also wear a narrow, long bent comb across the fore part of the head. Five pounds is a moderate price for a tortoise-shell back comb, which increases in value according to the size and quality of the shell. Hair-pins of tort,oise-shell are worn by the Ceylon women, gold and silver being substituted for full-dress ; these hair-pins are among the articles purchased by passengers in the steamboats. Tortoise-shell, termed Sisik panu, literally tortoise scales, is the only part of the turtles held of much value by the natives of the Indian islands. Turtle are found in all the seas of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos, but the imbricated kind that yields the finest shell is most abundant in those of Celebes and the Spice Islands, as far as the coast of NeW Guinea. The parties chiefly engaged in their capture are the Baju, maritime hunters of the Archipelag,o, of whom the turtle is the principal game. These people distinguish four species of sea-turtles, to which they give the names of kulitan, akung, ratu, and boko. The last is the panu of the Malays, and the green esculent turtle, of which the carapace is of no me, the animal being valued only for its flesh to sell to the Chinese and Europeans, for among the Muham madans it is unlawful food. The three first named species all yield a marketable shell. The ratu, which signifies king or royal turtle, is said to be of great size, measuring from five to six feet in length, but is not often taken, and the shell is of inferior value. All the finest shell is afforded
by the first, the kulitan, the name, in fact, signi fying shell-turtle, and is from the karet, Caretta imbricata, the hawk's-bill turtle. The back of this creature is covered with 13 shields or blades, which lie regularly on each other in the manner of smles, five on the middle of the back and four on the sides ; these are the plates which furnish the costly tortoise-shell to art. The edge of the scale or of th6 back is further covered with 25 thin pieces joined. to each other, which in commerce arc known under the appellation of feet or noses of the tortoise. The value of the tortoise-shell depends on the weight and quality of each head, under which expression is understood the collective tortoise-shell belonging to one and the same animal. Tortoise-shells which have white and black spots that touch each other, and are as much as possible similar on both .sides of the blade, are, in tho eyes of the Chinese, much finer, and are on that account more greedily monopolized by them, than those which want this peculiarity, and are, on the contrary, reddish, more damasked than spotted, possess little white, or whose colours, according to their taste, are badly distributed. The caprice of the Chinese makes them sometimes value single heads at unheard-of price.s, namely, such as pass under the name of white heads, which they also distinguish by peculiar names. Such heads as, possessing the above - named qualities, are very white on the blades, and have the outer rim of each blade to the breadth of two or three fingers wholly white, and the weight of which amounts to 21 catties (qualities which are seldom found united), inay be valued at one thousand guilders and upwards = IN per lb. avoirdupois. The feet or noses of the tort,oise shell are only destined for the Chinese market ; whenever the two hinder pieces are sound and have the weight of a quarter catty or there abouts, which is very seldom the case, they may reach the value of fifty guilders and more. The whole shell of a turtle seldom weighs more than three catties, notwithstanding it is a.sserted that there sometimes occur heads of four and five maks. Tortoise-shells are also sometimes found, of which the shell, instead of thirteen blades, con sists of a single undivided blade ; the Orang Baja call this kind, which very seldom occurs, lojong or loyong.