Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-12-05


 cities of tho Atlantic coast that the crca- turc has become luxury even in the land of his birth, the prolific region of the Chesapeake: hence the terrapin farm.
 Senator Dennis of Maryland was accus- toned to smile when strangers spoke or wrote of his tCrrapin farm. Tho truth Is that the senator simply improved some what upon tn" time honorcd Maryland custom of keeping n few tcrrapin in the cellar for future use. He had house where his tUrrapin were fed, but he did not make business of tcrrapin farming. Others have since gone into that business, and in course nf time perhaps the ravages made by the hunters among wild terrapin will be repaired by the terrapin farmers.
 One of the largest tcrrapin farms is that of Charles Lewis, on Hog island, n spot of n few acres in the Potomac not far from the Chesapeake and opposite the mouth of Coan river, a tide water tributary of the Potomac. Mir. Lewis Is Nirginian from the eastern shore, an energetic man, who laid up considerable money in running stcambOats on the Chesapeake and in New York harbOr. He went into tCrrapin farming about five years ago After fcnc- ing in several acreS, partly on the island and partly in the water surrounding il. he began buying tcrrapin for stocking tho farm. He has been buying ever since un- LII SCIhG ptISpAS htlAtNt ilAS many thousands in stock. The number Is prob ably overcstimated, hut Mir. Lewis has undoubtedly put n great deal of money in his farm, although small tcrrapin, from the size of q thumb nail upward, may be bought as low as 25 cents and some times n good deal lower. The tcrrapin is supposed 10 be about five years in reaching the marketable condition. \ count, " as the term is, must measure : inches on the AzsS -f.. al. ID standard, before 1t is regarded as fit to set before an epicuTe. Counts have reached S70 Q dozen in recent seasons.
 Some CpicurCs profess to believe that the artificially cultivated tCrrapin lacks n ccr- tain flavor of his wild brother, and this Is ascribcd tO the absence of some elements Of food Obtainable by the wild terrapin. Mir. Lewis believes he has made sure of these clements by including in the area of his farm quantity of sea grass such aS Is | found where tcrrapin inhabit. He has, as in the case of other rerrapin farms. in cludcd m area of sandy beach whcro the terrapin may lay their eggs It Is tho ma turc of the tCrrapin to burrow in the mud at the approach of cold weather and to | come out in May. The dormant trrrapin is fat, and the eggs are formed within the ] female It is during the dormant season that the creatures are caught and eaten.
  | Lewis dormant tCrrapin wake up, and the females come ashore to lay their eggs. | The tCrrapin digs perfectly round hole | in the sand and thCrc deposits her eggs. | When the eggs have hCCu laid, she scrapcs | sand over them and puts II down hard by | rising on her tOCs and letting her body drop with all its weight upon tho spot. | The female drCS not lay all her eggs in one day, hut few at n time until she I n i pattcd down :Snugly tucked away. there the eggs are subjected tn the heat of tho sun until the young tcrrapin arc matched, and as soon as the tiny crraturcS have the | needed strength they come out and take | to the water In some of the Chesapeake lands where tcrrapin breed there arc many foxes and tho latter destroy many eggs by breaking into the nests Farmer Lewis | terrapin nests are subject to no such dan I gers, so that the percentage of loss is | small.
 Since the young tcrrapin take to the | water when they arc tiny, the farm fence has to be very close. IL is also strong to | prevent incursions rom without. As the terrapiu, if left tu themselves, lie dormant | in the very season when they arc most in ] demand, IL is necessary before the cold l weather comes on to separate from the | main part of the farm great many
 counts" and to keep them against mud in a smllcr pond where they can have no chance to bury themselves and may easily be caught at any time These tcrrapin are fed on crabs, clans and such fish as suit their fancy. The earlier so called ter rapin farms consisted of such a pond only and did not include q breeding place. Cap. tive tcrrapin thus kept on top, su to speak, become amusingly tame and respond with alacrity to the call of the man that comes to feed them. X rap on the side of the pen brings them from every direction, and the creatures fairly fall over themselves in their eagerness to get at the food
 When the Lewis tcrrapin farm shall have reached full development, it Is likely to figure largely in the tcrrapin market. of Baltimore and Washington.
 F.. N. NALLANDIGHAM. | Illusions.