Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-25
Terrapisl Earning.

Terrapin farming-that is, the planting
of terrapin, as it would be Known in oyster
terminology-is not by any means new
About twenty years.aSd a man named Dor
Ion established a tsrrapin farm, or pound,
just below Mobile. where he kept young ter
rapin for growth, and swhere he claimed to
be raising terrapin from the egg The fish
commission leportss showever, say that he
was not breeding. The great storm which
swept over the gulf couple of years ago
destroyed this farm. 1t was, so far as is
known, the pioneer. The next pounds were
established at Roanoke, Va and there is a
large pound at Roanoke Island TODAY where
sCme attention is being given to breeding
But SO little was known of this work in the
north that less than six years ago when an
inquiry was made by some one in New
YORK or the fish commission of the state
as well as the dealers in terrapin in Fulton
market. their reply was that there was no
Sich thing as ;errapM farming. Benjamin
West CT Fulton market said that he had
hcard OF raising youns terrapin, and had
tried 1t IL the Shrewsbury river unsuccess-
IdiIy. IL appeared from 5,th, eg,ss
which he put In his Enclosure he got 5000
Young tcrrapn, which rapidly escaped and
50 disgasted him with the experiment. His
confession brought on. the experience of a
man in Maryland. who had come upon Dor
as far;n by chance. and had pro.ited by
mis- C--c-..l.rle.
This m IL was Robert G. LOWE He cs-
.Di!5hcL mis- IarE, just below EIaston, Nd.
= 4 pt mt whtre u fresh water stream ran
'nto tie bay. The tile flowed TIM an
----- ro,ru, pu, the tc:-.,.
- escape by n wire netting
80 Was one AMI half acres in
extent. - SSoojlel ii with 1..sD terrapin
'hich he &c Oh heTi-sheli crabs. The Graf
neat VS. PIT through a feel cater, which
1901 On 4 platform on n, ba-l of TIE
J2i; ana VIII -. .utter was stlrtel the
'crrapn pop "a =, tieir heads all oar and
at?-:et tor their daily - a lot Of
-ilcktr /. air ~ c'eo $ hat the
'G'rltu Woh'' CO - ---ir keepers c2ll,
! Dn' TO IS : .c-uIiafity =. I'll terrapin-
nat they val respond to ranping noise Of
clappin'; cf the han :. 7:iiiethel it is made
ny tn, keep some -. NJ
y 49,; 40 suri' report G.: as e.
| reri~ aid +" < IS nothing Of re.orl to
-" - 1t c;s successful or ret
T. -,o@n-s i"' I'd, hcweve-. the fisi:
! e--.------- - 80. From $3.50
70 800 ter512ln - e :: tie Rc-=cke
-. size they are taken out ani sold. Some
&C has been civcaSt IA brcot.as ct Roam
o'e. Tae female tcrrt3n lcss from eigh:
- ,weLty esga t ;:r.s1,c il the =,
their ned; for. ,aol.l tie m-t,.c; dts a
nat ..tt!e hoe for then and covers t-,n
'Fe, 80 8 to shoy IL sign = tie eye of
." al - = >5l, :. recognize e tcrrapin's
=" - - "a ,...-J -c-.,i G. tecrapin
e-ss; The, 30 are laid in June ana they
?Itch in September. - 6rst G:-.a.etrr Of
l,nts toe'e Youngsters remain in the SAM
al throu IN the wilte- -'-,.,~.'-,,es tie
csae out. and the ~. 1e~ t-.o -. - into I
earn and keeps ra,- - i straw
r r3.daSn 'ns e lou, &c y rs' ut f isr-
,u, It's @im.-e graduI as it
bee. .e3 ,ar..,.: as AR. Lowry expressed
me lu.i>f that n Maryland terrapin thirty
nine inchc- L.. r. q "'..
casch.>H :',f Trrrap,n.
There is another Virginia farm at Hog
Islanl near thc mo1th CT the Potomac 1t
was started fo.r YEARS ago by Cnas Lewis
WIN runs line Of steamers between Wash
N ton and Baltimore. He has several acres
inclJsel at point where a creek runs into
the river. His fence is sunk ten 70 twelve
inches in the mud TO prevent the terrapin
burrowing out. Mr.aLswis is experimenting
ssp'n hrre ing We "9s not ace mp;ished
nurh as yet. Capt. Jonn Iusiey has a small
farm near Watervlle Nd, and there is
enc near CriSfeld. Many of the pens
where The terrapn has bc1n ccn.ined dur
ing the summer months for many years are
gradually being converted into farms. In
III,
trying to escape, harden their feet and
scratch their un 'ersheIl ana these terra
pan are not nearly 50 saiabe as others
Nth of Marylanl. the only lerrapia farra
known is one at Atlantic City. run by
ld named GARNER. |-'.. -.
OF course there is no difficulty about
catching the domestic terrnpn: bat the
methods of catching the wild terrap!n are
many and curious. Along the Maryland
sfore they are caught with rods and nets.
The terrapin fisherman =, r"s h'. rss frtc
the mad where he expects 10 = - tea
pin, ana II he hifS -I. re holds it with
the rod untli he can catch it with a net,
which is in his other hand. There are Ger
tain localities in the Chesapeake land its.
tributary creeks where TIE pin crop
is constant. and 1t. is generally sapposea
that there are warm springs at the hot,c-n
of these creeks which attract ,neah The
terrapin is not fond of cold: though Mr.
st"'enscn tells me that he hoo srcl enc
~ zen so Solid tlldt MS les br.ae off with
snap when handled: and yet when he was
thawed out. he was lively as-welI, not
as cricket, for no terrapin is So frisky as
that. A young man living on 'ransier
Island related to Mr.. Stevenson a story of
terrapin catching which Is odd enough to
be interesting, even If II seems a little
doubtful. He said that he used to swim
in the direction of a cove, with his head
under water far as possible and only
his hand showing cOnspicuousy on the
surface, and as he swan he made u croak-
ing noise The terrarin would put their
heads above water to see what the strange
noise meant, and before they identified
him he had them by the neck. This heart
less imposition on the trustfu terrapn is
natched near Beaufort, S. c., where the
negroes set fire to the swamp grass SO that
the warmth VIII deceive the terrapin into
the belief that spring has come and so de-
lude him into coming out of his winter
quarters. -
In North Carolina they use drags. some
thing like oyster dredges, for taking the
terrap!n from the mud in winter In the
summer season a funneIed net, like q lob
ster pot, is used. During the spawning
season the North Carolina man sometimes
tracks the terrain up the shore with an
Intelligent Jog; but this style of sport is
much condemned, because the dog is apt
to destroy the terrapin eggs. South of Cape
Fear The fishermen use a seine, Which they
Set If their rapping on the boat brings any
terrapin to the surface. This style of fish
ing is known as 'bucking." The negroes go
about at night with torches during the
spawning season and pick up the terrapin
on the sand banks. This is called torch
ing"
How to CoSk the Terrapin.
The orthodox waylof cooking the terrapin
is to stew it. Mr.iBtevenson found the peo-
pie of Tangier IslapS with whom the ter
rapin is not a luxury,ymaking potpie Of It,
There are many ways of cooking the ter
rapin. Sam Ward,f the famous American
,. -