The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-24
THE VANISHING TERRAPIN
ONCE DESPISED CREITURES NOW
WORTH $16O Il DOZEN,

A Terrnpin Fuxm on the Eastern shore
of Maryland W,th Forty Thousand
Dollars Worth OF stock-Iyabits of the
Reptiles ~Grest Decrease in Their
Numbere In Recent Years.
a. diamond-back terrapin farm With
more than nfteeu thousand terrapin in
stock, and worth at a conservative esti~
mate forty thousand dollars, is one of
the show places of Crisfeld the very
heart Of the famous eastern shore Of
, Maryland. When Washington and La
fayette were forced to eat terrapin at
y Yorktown because the army supplies
passed laws prohibiting the feeding OF
slaves oftener than twice a week on ter
rapin meat in order to save pork, and
when the succulent reptile was cooked
as food for fowls and swine, and could
be bought for one dollar an oX-cart load,
no one dreamed that the day would ever
come when terrapin would become al
most extinct and worth as much as one
hundred and sixty dollars dozen. But
such is the situation to-day, and in this
region, the most productive of the lus-
ctous diamond back of the Chesapeake,
e., or1nI Wi
greater anxiety for their safety than
were the slaves who protested against
being gored on terrapin meat.
Believing that good money could be
made In cultivating terrapin A. I. La
valette, grandson of Rear Admiral
u. A. f. Valette, decided to embark in
the business Selecting pretty site for
a home on the shore near Crist1eld, he
built his terrapin farm, covering about
sevenacres. The farm is divided up into
pens, with high board fences and wire
screens across the sideways. In these
pens are water, grass and wet ana dry
sand. Plank walks high above the wa
ter and marsh are constructed over the
farm, and when Mr.. La Valette wishes
to feed his valuable reptiles he simply
goes out on one of these elevated walks
and claps his hands together, making a
loud noise. In an instant the terrap1n
come helter-skelter from the sand,
marsh and water and huddle under the
walk where he stands, while those in the
other pens crawl against the wire
screens and fences in an effort to get
through. They sometimes crawl on top
of one another until they are piled up
two feet thick, and occasionally there
are fights, though terrapin is not gem
orally pugnacious They are fed on
crabs, fish and meats of any kind, but
are small eaters, and it is seldom that a.
terrapin will attack any live thing
larger than fly. bug or very small fish.
Mr.. La Valette has terrapin of all sizes,
from the largest to the tiny little fell
lows not yet quite one year old and not
larger than a silver half dollar. Their
growth is slow, and it is estimated that
at least thirty or forty years is re-
uuired for a terrapin to attain its full
growth The diamond back seldom
grows to be over nine inches in length,
measured by the stomach or under shell.
Not outstanding the fact that every
pen appeared to be full of terrapin of all
sizes, Mr.. La Valette said that he did
not think he had more than fifteen thou
sand in stock. Orders were heavy last
winter and the severe weather last Feb
ruary killed a large number. The terra
min is by nature cold-blooded reptile,
and with the coming of the first frosts
he begins to settle himself for the WIN
&c. an this farm tO keen
n close eye on the weather and use arti-
fetal means for keeping the terrapin
from freezing. The favorite place for
the hiberna ton of the largest is few
inches below the soft oozy mud in the
bed of a creek. No matter how long
they remain alternating they never lose
an ounce in weight, and come out as gay
as crickets in the warm spring, The hi
bernation usually lasts about six
months, beginning with the approach of
frosty weathe in the fall and continuing
until warm spring weather. They bury
themselves a few inches in the mud and
leave at the spot where thsy disappear
n mound, in the middle of which hole
can be discerned. 1t is tho mound and
the hole which first attract the attention.
of the fisherman. During this period
terrapin, are caught in their torpid state
At least ninety per cent, OF those taken
from the, beds of deep creeks will meas
IRE from six and one-half to eight and
one-half inches, with an average weight
of two and three-fourth pounds, and are
females, while eighty per cent OF those
bedded in the marshes have an average
weight Of three-quarters Of pound and
meas less than five inches. The
males invariably bed in the marshes and
among the rushes of very shallow ponds,
only venturing in cold water during the
summer and warmest spring and fall
months, in which time they lead mi
oratorv life In search of food, consisting
principally Of small shellhsh and soft
shell crabs.
At this season terrapin are caught oc-
"a sionally in dredges and dragnets, but
most of them are found in the marshes
and sand. They are easily tracked and
their market value being so high, the
shores are always dotted with hunters,
and 1t is mainly from these that Mr.
Ia Valette buys his stock. A few Of the
hunters still employ dogs in tracking
them. Years ago nearly every resident
of the eastern shore had his terrapin
dog When a dog tracks and finds ter
20 min he places his fore feet on the ter
L, IS aim