The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-09-06


 established his farm just below Easton. Md. at q point where fresh water stream ran into the bay, The tide flowed through an inlet into his pond. and the terrapin were secured from escape by a wire netting. The enclos- ure was one and half acres In extent. ,te stocked 1t with 1000 terrapin. which he fed on hard-shell crabs. The crab meat was put through a feed cuL ter. which stood on A platform on the bank Of the pond. and when this cutter was started the terrapin peeped up their heads all over and started for their daily meal like a lot of chickens. Mir. Lowry said that the terrnpin would come at their keepers call. but this Is a pccuiiarity of all terrapin-that they will respond 10 a rapping noise or a ciapping of the hands. whether it is made by their keeper or by some one else. .a-
 From Roanoke island the fish com mission has reports showing the suc- cess of the experiment there. From 5000 to 5000 terrapin are kept in the pond. As fast as they grow to mar ketable size they are taken out and sold. Some care has been given to breeding. The female terrapin lays from eight to twenty eggs at time in the sand near the water. These eggs are protected by the keeper with piece of canvas. for. though the mother digs neat little hole for them and covers them over 30 as to show no ,Ia ta af hA aYtt1l Ia nd crows and blackbirds seem to be able to recognize a terrapin nest. and they are very fond of terrapin eggs. The eggs are laid in June. and they hatch in September. The first diameter of the young Is about half an inch. Some times these youngsters remain In the sand all through the winter. Some times they come out, and the owner takes them into barn and keeps them packed in straw through the cold months. The Virginia terrapin grow about an inch a year at first: but their growth is more gradual as they be- come larger. and MT. Lowry expressed the belief that a Maryland terrapin thirty or forty years old would be only eight or nine inches long.
 There is another Virginia farm at Hog Island, near the mouth of the Potomac. It was started four years ago by Charles Lewis, who runs a line of steamers between Washington and Baltimore. He has several acres en- closed at a point where a creek runs into the river. His fence is sunk ten to twelve inches in the mud to prevent the terrapin borrowing out. MT. Lewis Is experimenting with breeding. He has not accomplished much yet.
 Captain John Insley has a small farm near Watersville, Md. and there Is one near Crisfield. Many of the pens where the terrapin have been confined during the summer for many years are grad uallY being converted into farms. In the close pens it is found that the ter rapin, trying to escape, harden their feet and scratch their under shell; and these terrapin are not nearly so salable as others. North of Maryland the only terrapin farm known is one at Atlantic City, run by man named Gardner.
 Of course there Is no difficulty about catching the domestic terrapin, but the methods of catching the wild terrapin are many and curious. Along the Maryland shore they are caught with rods; and nets. The terrApin fisherman pokes his rod into the mud where he expects to find terrapin. and If he hits one he holds 1t with the rod until he can catch it with 8 net which fs in his other hand. There are certain To- calities in the Chesapeake and its trib- utary creeks where the terrapin crop is constant, and 1t is generally supposed that warm springs at the bottom of these creeks attract them. The terra pin is not fond of cold. Near Beaufort, s. C., the negroes set fire to the swamp grass so that the warmth will deceive the terrapin into the belief that spring has come, and 50 delude him into com ing out of his winter quarters.
 In North Carolina they use drags, something like oyster dredges, for talk ing the terrapin from the mud in win ter. In summer funnelled net like lobster pot is used. During the spawning season the North Carolina hunter sometimes tracks the terrapin up the shore with dog; but this style of sport is much condemned, because the dog Is apt to spoil the terrapin eggs. South of Cape Fear the fishermen use seine, which they set if their rap ping on the boat brings any terrapin to the surface. This style of fishing is known as "bucking." The negroes go about at night with torches during the spawning season and pick up the terra. pin on the sand banks. This is called "torching." ... .'. =;zfs.. '+ !
 The orthodox way of cooking the ter rapin is to stew 1t. MT. Stevenson found the people of Tangler island with whom the terrapin is not luxury making a pot of pie of it. There are many ways of cooking the terrapin Sam Ward, the famous American cpl cure, is said to have delighted the Prince of Wales with particular re. cipe. One of the best restaurateurs ir the country gives these directions fol terrapin stew:
 "Immerse the terrapin in boiling wa. ter and let 1t boil for twenty minutes Remove the lower shell, cutting away the meat from 1t carefully. Remove gall bag and liver being careful not tc break gall Sbag,) throw the gall bag away and cut the liver into dice. Re. move the meat from the upper shell
 
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