Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1896-09-03
IERRAPlN FARMS.
Tas IasIstry successfully Carried vsi In
New Jersey.

"
finally originated the idea of terrapin
farming, and among the first to engage
In the business was ex-senator Gardi-
ner, of Atlantic City. lie damned up "a
cove in the Thoroughfare near his house
and stocked il with terrapin found in
the locality. After years of practice
md experiment he now cmphatlcally
says that terrapin farming pays. In
fact, it is now the genial statesmOn's
money-malling hobby, as he finds y
ready market for the product of his
farm in this city.
There are several kinds of terrapin,
and the good, gray senator does no.
raise the best variety, unless he has re-
Gently stocked his cove with the cele-
brated diamond-backs, which are oo-
tainable only in Chesapeake bay. Still,
the market for any kind of terrapin is
usually good.
The harvest time on the terrapin farm
Is in the fall. Early in the fall the finest
and fattest terrapin are captured and
placed in a warm cellar. There they
live for weeks, and although left with
put food, persist in getting fat and fatter
Until the chill blasts of winter usher
In the market time. tits no nonsense TO
be sent down into dark cellar to cap
ture fugitive terrapin that may at any
moment adhere to your legs or fingers
with more than bulldog tenacity, Still,
the work of capturing the creatures IS
easy to a man who understands It.
With lantern hung where its yellow
chickering's will partly Danish the dark
ress, a man with sort of alpenstock in
his hand hunts the terrapin in out-of.
the-way places. With crooked staff
he deftly tumbles them over on their
bucks, and places them in crate that
will hold six or eight heavy-weights.
When the terrapin is on his back he ia
dsarmed, for his fat prevents his turn
ing his head back far enough to catch
hold of his captor. His legs, too, are
so short that he can't get his feet on tho
ground to enable him to turn over.
When the crate is well filled it IL covered
and expressed to the purchaser.
Diamond-baehs in season are worth
from two to three dollars each, accord
ing to weight. When the stock in the
cellar is shipped the slhmberins terra.
pin in Tie mud at the cove's bottom are
rudely awakened. Men go in boats, and,
armed with long crooks, prod into the
mud to locate the turtles. When the
crook strikes "shell" the work gets
exciting. A terrapin, no matter how
torpid, instantly regains his usual ac-
tivity when an iron strikes his shell.
and begins plodding away through the
mud us fast as he cnn. The fisherman
then tries TO catch him Under the
"iluke" or she'll with the crook and 50
raise the struggling terrapin into the
boat. The man with the crook soon
gets the hang of the business, and but
few terrapin ever escape him when once
they are located on the bottom.
When landed in the boat the savage
creatures are laid on their backs in
locker and there they pass the time
away, fonming at the mouth. until they
are consigned to the crate. These fish
! erinen handle fierce turtles with won
derful skill. The tails are regarded
MS natural handles, and to, grasp them
Is the first thing necessary in colnplet-
ing their capture. Should the fisher
man be clumsy the chances are that
the terrapin Will chew his fingers. To
"monkey" with terIapin is even more
dangerous than 10 shake hands with n
lobster or to tickle crab Under his
chin, for when the terrapin gets n grip
on anything it holds so that the jaws
have to be pried apart before release
can be effected. Then often there will
be left but remnant of finger, for
this turtles head is nearly all mouth.
1t is, in fact, yawning chasm with
swinging walls, the hinges of which
are as strong as iron, and the stranger
who fools around the terropin's front
door is sure to be taken in.
The average marketable terrapir
weighs from eight to twelve pounds
After two or three years growth they
increase in size slowly, but get heavier
rapidly. With age the fish becomes
more and more firm and solid, and II
frequently happens that two tcrropn'
Of the same size will vary two or three
pounds in weight. The diamond d-backet
terrapin seldom grow very large, and il
size can be readily discounted by thu
fresh water "loggerhead."
When terrapin attains great size it'
flesh becomes very tough and is only
available in the kitchen for making
soups. Mturalists say that the dia
mond-backed terrapn never lives mor'
than 25 or 80 years, while his relative
the land tortoise, has been known to b'
"as young as ever" at 100 years. Som
men along the Chesapeake claim tha
they can accurately tell tsrrapin's ag,
by certain lines upon its shell that in
dicate the growth of the armor year b.
year. The men who raise them in Ney
Jersey scout this idea, but none of them
So far as known, have ever tested tn
matter.
Terrapin farming, if successfully con
Quoted, is a money-mal<ing business
and pays all the way from 300 to 500 pc
cent. per annum on the investment
Once in awhile, however, bad lucl
comes, the terrapin freeze or th
waters become impregnatcd with pois
onous matter, and, in consequence
there is an upturning of terrapin toes
However, the few men engaged inth
novel business in New Jersey seem wel
satisfied with their investments.-Phi
adelphia Times.
The Happy Litigant.