Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-09-23
TERRAPIN FARMING.
cExrLEmAx pEsCI,IsEs MS WELL
KNOWN GEORGIA "cRAwLs.'
CARE TAKEN NTH BABIES"
mt Others Practically Shift for
ThemseIves-They Are Fed Daily on
shr,mn and Crabs-Curfosity often
Getn Them Into Trouble.

Mr.. p. NJ. Strong. manager Oh the
Beaulseu terrapin farm. at Beaulieu. Ca
was ~ the city yesterday on business
and spent the night at the home Of Mr..
w. C. Robinson. at Mount Washington.
Beaulleu Is about ten miles aboyc
Savannah. on the Vernon river, and has
within it's confines more terraplns than
any other place in the country Mr..
Strong, in speaking OF his farm and It's in
habitants. said: "The terrapin is funny
brute. and his life is laid along peculiar
lines. He has many things to recommend
him and is an easy sort of chap to ger
along with. but am afraid we are grad
ually seeing the last of him, and before
many more years he will be but mem
DRY. Your Chesapeake bay terrapin'
that is so highly vaunted. has practically
left us. There are very few Of them now
obtainable, and the greater portion OF the
terrapin now eaten in Maryland are the
black stock from South Carolina. The
continued hunting for the terrapn ina
the unfaillng demand for them are fas l
blotting them out. Every year it grows
harder to get them and prices increase.
"A dozen fine, S-inch Chesapeake bay ter
rapin, If they could be gotten, / am told,
would sell here for 500 This shows how
rare this species have become. Our black
stock are fast reaching this point.
though we certainly hope TO postpone
the ultimate extinction for many day
yet.
TERRAPIN "CRAWLS-"
"Our terrapin 'crawls' at Beaulieu pro-
duce more terrapin, probably. than any
other crawl in the country. / think, by
the way. that there is but one other, and
that is on the Eastern Shore, near Girls
field Our crawls are right on the river
The larger is 80 by 60 feet. and is divided
into three compartments for three sizes
The smaller crawl is for the baby ter
rapin. and is 100 by s feet. Through
both crawls there is trunk or ditch,
running. connected with the river. making
a circuit of the farm and returning 10
the river again. The bottom of the
crawls is on a level with the low tide.
and Is covered with layer of mud about
six inches deep. Into this the terrapin
burrow in winter and remain the best
part of the time. Flood gates are at the
opening OF both crawls. so We can let i'm
population of terrapin is about 1900, one
half bulls and the other half heifers.
"A funny thing about terrapin is that
the females. or heifers, are worth much
more than the bulls, or males. and are
larger The bull terrapin are the cheap
est we sell. They very rarely grow over
four or five inches long, while the female
at times will measure eight inches on the
bottom shell. Neither is the flavor of
the bull as good as that of the heifer.
The eight-inch heifer, though, is consid-
cred very large, the average size being
six inches. When a terrapin reaches
this size, which is considered its full
growth. it is called n count Terrapin
between five and a half and six inches
long are known as 'two-for-t hrees'-be-
cause you can get only as much for eigh-
teen of them as you can Cor twelve
counts Those from five to five and a
half inches are known as halves
NOT BOTHERED BY HUNGER.
Tho feeding of the terrapin is a puZ-
zling thing. / have not yet found whe-
ther II is necessary for a terrapin TO eat
at all. once | made an experiment and
put a number of terrapin in a separate
crawl. kept them there for a year, and
gave them absolutely nothing to eat. At
the end of that time / took them out and
found that many of them were in just as
good condition as those l had been feed
ing all the year. However, we feed them.
We give them exclusively shrimp and
crabs to eat They will take most any,
thing you give them, but these two things,
| have found, improve the flavor i'm
mensely. our 1000. / should say, on an
average will consume twenty bushels OF
shrimp and crabs a day. IL you stop feed
ing them IL does not seem to worry them
at all The woung ones we feed hardly
at ALL as they appear TO pick up more
from the mud than anything
else We have an army of darkies en-
ployed to catch the crabs and shrimp for
us, and all along the river there are lines
out daily.
''The terrapin is a hardy beast and
there is but one way of killing him. and !
II you do not know how, you will have !
trouble in finishing him then. There is |
no means of persuasion that can make |
a terrapin poke his head out of the shell |
II he thinks 1t best not to. In the first |
place. you have to arm yourself with a |
knife and fork Then put your terrapin |
down on the floor. In a minute or so he |
Will start walking, and poke his head out |
Then coming from behind, you want to |
jab the prongs Of your fork down over
his neck between the head and the shell, |
him to the floor. Next, all you |
have TO do is TO use your knife and saw |
his head Off You can't kill a terrapin by |
'old. have seen a terrapin placed in the |
centre OF a block of fee and frozen fast |
10 II. They have been left there four or |
i've days. then chopped out thawed !
awhile by the fire and in a short time |
be as lively as ever.
LIFE OF A TERRAPIN.
ut takes a terrapin seven years TO at
n his days is "A matter of dispute, / be-
ieve they live twenty-five or thirty years.
rhe heifer lays from eight TO twelve eggs
hree times year-in April. May, and
June IL takes these eggs six weeks TO
match. The baby terrapin is just about
rs big as the end of your thumb. At one
md OF our large crawl we have a board
ike a chicken roost, upon which che ter
'apin can crawl into a sand pit, where
hey lay their eggs IL Is necessary to be
'ery careful and get the baby terrapin
way from their parents as soon as they
latch. else they Will be eaten on the
pur OF the moment. 1t does not DO TO
xpose the young terrapin 10 the cold
Ike the old chaps. as they are not hardy
nough TO stand IL without suffering.
"Terrapin have a certain amount of in
and very large amount of
uriosity. Through this prominent trait
hey are captured. The best way of
atching terrapin is for two men 10 20
ut in rowboat with net. They row