New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-11-20
TERRAPIN GETTING SCARCE.
UTTER EXTINCTION OF THE DIAMOND BACK
PREDICTED.
CHOICE SPECIMENS IN. DEMAND AT THE RATE
OF 500 A DozEN-EPICUREs WHO HAUNT
FULTON MARKET WHERE THE
DIAMoNDBACKs COME FROM


The appalling fact has been staring tie "msn-
versn and epcures Of this city in the face Tor so'
time that diamond ack terrapn are becoming extinct.
How far in the future before this calamitous event
will pass Into history cannot be told Just now 10
certainty but the leaders OF epicurean thous'' ~
Cotbom and there are ut least OF wise men IN
this city who mike practice OF frequentine f"'o1i
Market on the lookout for h.gtcass diimond'p'oh
,errapIn and who know about cooking the terra
min than all the chefs In both hemispheres pehe.s
,h. ,yben the centennial of the Worlds Fair Is ceie-
hroted in Chicago the diamond-back will b. mem'r
only and will have taken its place beside the oiSsp
nearing buffalo, the mastcdon and The ichtnS osauus'
prhic attention has been drawn to this matter TO
comfy nv the announcement that damohopachs are
selling now ut the rate OF 800 uoAeh' i"P.', ,,
IN rnlton Market BY Tribune reporter confirmed 'ls
news. 49,, =, ~.
uIt 60 ,rre said Wallace Backford the son OF inc
~ rros,asnt Of the state Fish Commission, INA, ue!
ore selling at that rate, but not by the uo1eh NJ '"
nrice for terrapin OF such quahty anu size ...s
- roa NV tho dozen. Not more than dozen OF 'nhs
kind are received In twelve months ana ~ """'N
be more proper to quote them al 90 eno" tn. ,.or
.Does vour experience as fish merchant le"" s0~
N think that terrarin becoming eNuhc''
aIt docs undonbed While there are cheaper
,orron,n IN the market than those that sell ior co.
yot the standard salable terrapn the counts Us 'os'
moosur,nc SIX inches are termed, though thes are
still had In supply sufficient 10 meet '"e $780,
coli for s4s dozen or 80 per cent higher Una" .ney
did five years ago. The same VI uu. " g..
diamond back terrnpin sold here wn,ch !, .nv
roo, that they are becoming alarmingiy SCARE
Tho eunnlies OF diamond-ba back terrapih lor 'n'
Ia. oouo from the Atlantic and Gull COASTS i'oi
massachusetts, TO Texas. The finest speci"''". o.,
,ound In the cranberry b)gs OF cape 'ou' AZ" ~
chcopest arc from the sandy inles oil Ma'asou" Da.
Tho greatest quantity sent here from ,.ie
noo,o raw and the waters Of the Carolinas the 's
ouronr shining point in the United states p'oo"oy
ho,ng crIsne,d, Md The dinmond-bachs hvo
in salt marshes near the coast and are se'u''i ioaN
o., ,or, ,hem They were formerly very aoundant III
,uo,, p,oces and could be often seen Oh warm ua~"
snnn,ng themselves on the bars ana ha's' pu' ."o
Increasing demand for them and the whoes.i Z 'Ap
n, o,d and Young have done their IheNiU'oie VIZ" "
thinning ont their numbers. The diamohu-oacA' %
oo o, Tho smallest OF the forty-two species OF 'ur'e
and torto,ses found IN thu United SaleS' n"d '".'
vary greatly In external appearance Inc o'a'nonu-
.hsned scale on their backs, whence comes 'ne''
mama &c common alike 10 the MISSISSIPPI anu '"s
Massachusetts, terrapns but there Is vast a''e'e.'
in their edible qualities and In ther '""o' -"
Northern diamond back during the Writer ..
rows in the shore mud foot or more ana hper'.'''
sbut ont from the world thus 1t becomes IT. HeaS'
tender and Juicy When the tide goes down "onie '"
nrcn and the ancient fishermen who can no long pIi
Coz Tho soas for fish rs In younger days walk long te
horo and urobe down in the black, ony m"d VII"
sticks for the sleeping damondback by 'he pe'"Nn'
horseshoe shaped depressions on the surloe '"es ~
generally tell where a terrapin can DC ioiiu az,
!, is a fve.p,und count It well repays uay aoo'
Leaking for IT, The search for dhmond-oackS aio"s
tre shores of New-Jersey and Long isianu Il poo'
cu,ed with great energy Just before the hohaaSs.
rhorlsc,vtrp and New Yesr's-when particularly gooo
ico. rerard the successful searches In the mad
Mourn in rho South especially along the Gun COAST
.o catching and feeding Of diamond back terapi' 1"
rens or "crawls' Is Lively Industry fisno4''
catch them in their nets and also nab them when Tue!
orar, I'm IN the salt grass on exploring tours ana
mi, them in the pens, where they are kept uh 'ne
tton,n season fr1m october to June, when they are
.xoa nm and shipped North. But these southern
,orranins do not begin to rank with the Noe'"ei"
nroduct The reason IS that the chlia'e uoeS Nv
ro-ca tho Southern dinmond-back to Durno" III 'Ho
mud 70 sleep and fatten during tie season OF i'Oe.
and snow Instead, the southern specimen Il up a"u
ohout every day Of the 365. running and scauiius
,r, o., living Even in the "craws.' where
h ro ,ed on crabs oysters asd fish, they are moving
ohont continually. The result OF so much eAereise
& IN make them tough and strngy scli'o"es arc
nlentifl on their belly shells, ana they i'o oo,"s
on their feet All this greatly lessons their in'ihe'
value , ,
Your genuine epicure would not touch such q
,erronin Neither could he be Induced TO par'aHs
=, orr,pin snch as were served at the recent Chamber
~ commerce dinner in this city The DIAMOND oaC As
that figured In the menu on tiat iesuii oscsyn ns
a. tbe dinner was so. II should be said for the
caterer however that II he had trled 70 u,y SL
backs that cost nj the ra'e vi gov ' -
rhs connoisseurs OF diamonttack terapin OF whom
SmnHr IN Turon Market They haunt the great ish
ait lcoing for tie rare native OF tne IN; r., ~
v bo t1 IND At cooling terrapin they artists They
always look for terrapln that Is iu Qi Egg, ~, n
D,,rance of small bard the belly Just behind
the ioelesS and even tbs Is not an nre
vail In the Maryland style the terrapin Is niss
thrown into tepd water; the SKIN ana cilMS arc and
ih nndSrsheH is then cut away and the gall and
bladder and liver removed After this the terra ,
E then carnished with eggs. cream: butter ana SPECS
and when ready for the table tle wine S1 na FORE,
added The Philadelphia style differs rom the i"re-
c coinS only in the addition of terrapIn eggs.
IN, diamond backs grow at the rate OF one nrn
her eggs in the sand Just above ne msaWa'er hatcS
ont a little brood OF diamond backs that lose no une
une down 70 the water nn ats dom nen 9t vii Wi
Law only a few eggs. where the green lutte VIII De
nos thousand or 81 in season rms iii n" ,nr more as
quickly The females attain a larger size than me
males and are much rh more s length o. the under
part of the she'll inches and the weight Of the
TG HeG Tn aanda length for saabc females is six
inches Those reaching this limit are called connts";
Ave and half inches are ciassed as short comnts";
hoIow that length they are hcifcrs" and bulls"
Here are some prices terrapn furnished by
wallace Blackford. who says they are 20 per cent
higher than five wears arc: TerrarAn OF the first
class a. each counts SiS dozen: short counts
ao4 n dozen heifcrs and bulls - TO 90 dozen;
C,rolno counts ao4 n dozen: Carolina short connts
ak a dozen: Mlssissippi and Texas counts. 49,
Mississippi and Texas short commits Si2.
The Vitality Of the terra pin Is wonderful. Often"
said Mr. Rlackford "we get them here In the winter
annarently frozen solid Their legs would break on
Il,e ricles Placed beside register for several
honrs they would thnw out and he as lively ever
hnvc chioroformed them 50 that II has taken them
weet IA come around but they recovered In I'm
stance The honrt Of a terriDin will beat for FIVE
minutes after being cut ont Of its body"
EYTIrqrENTrG THE COUNSELLOR
From The Washington Post.
Correspondent sam Johnston RECALLED n party yeS
tcrday with stories about the late Judge Baxter, who