The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-10
G54a'Mi.03yE)-,}ACH PROFIT
THE TERFAPLN FARMERS OF
MARYLAND REAP A RICH
HARVEST
BIG INDUSTRY OF CRIsFIELD

Never a Time when There Is Not
Gourmets in Eastern Cities Do
Net Care for the Cost-Talzes
Ferry Years 20 Fit Them for the
Table.
A diamond-back terrapin firm, with
more than l5,0GO terrapin in stock and
worth at a conservative estimate $4,000
Is one of the interesting industries Of
Cr!sHeld, the very heart of the famous
ea-,crn suUre OF Maryland, says the
Washington Post.
When Washington and Lafayette were
forced TO eat terrapin at Yorktown be-
cause the army supplies were low, when
counties in Maryland passed laws p.o-
hipiting the feeding of slaves oitener
than twice week on terrapin meat In
uiCer to save pork, and when the sue
cu4ent reptile was cooked as food for
fowls and swine and could be bought
for 81 an oXcart load, no one ever
dreamed that the day would ever come
when the terrapin would become almost
extinct and worth as much as $50 or
SO dozen. But such is the exact
situation today and in Crisfield the dia-
mond backs are cared for and guarded
with greater anxiety for their safety
than were the slaves in the days wnen
they protested against being gorged on
terrapin meat In those days the
diamond-back terrapin were as numer-
Gus in the Chesapeake bay and its trlpu-
taries as are the crabs at the present
time, but there is now a ship load OF
crabs to one terrapin.
A MODEL TERRAPIN FARM.
Believing that good money could be
made in "cultivatng' terrapin, A. T. La
Valette, a grandson of Rear Admiral E.
A F. La Valette, decided to embark
in the business, and, according to his
own statement he has no cause to re-
greet his decision. He knew the Chesa-
peake bay thoroughly, having been &C.
lively engaged in the terrapin, oyster,
crab and fish business for more than
fourteen years, and there was no ques-
ton in his mind that 1t would bring
fabulous prices. Selecting a pretty site
on the shore near CrisfeId, he erected
a splndid home, adjoining which he built
his terrapin farm, covering about seven
acres, everything being arranged to suit
their habits as to water, grass and
sand
The farm is divided into pens, with
high board fences and screens across the
81, Tor
grass, wet and dry sand, and Mister
Ta'pin" can take his choice as to where
he spends his time. Plank walks, high
above the water and marsh, are con-
structed over the farm, and when Mr.. La
Valette wishes to feed his valuable rep
tiles he simply steps out on one of these
elevated walks and claps his hands to-
gether making a loud noise. In an In
slant the terrapin 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 fence in an
effort to get through. They sometimes
crawl on top of each other until they are
piled up two feet thick, and occasionally
there are some pretty lively fights,
though a terrapin is not generally pug
nacious.
IL IL Ah41<AAN AN 411G11Ib Las
They are fed on crabs, fish and meats
of any kind, but are small eaters, and If
is seldom that a terrapin will attack
anything larger than a fly, bug OF very
small fish. Mr.. La Valette has terra
pin of all sizes, from the largest to the
tiny little fellows not yet quite a year
old and not larger than a silver half
dollar. Their growth Is remarkably slow
and it is estimated that at least thirty
or forty years are required for a terra
pin to attain its full growth. The da-
mOnd back-said to be the finest known
seldom grows to be over nine inches in
length, measured by the stomach or I'M
dershell. 1t is the opinion of Mr. La
Vallette that no man can accurately esu-
mate the number of years 1t takes for
terrapin to get it's full growth, but be-
Heves it cannot be less than thirty-five
or forty years.
Notwithstanding 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 $1,000 In
stock; that orders were heavy last
winter and the severe weather last Feb
ruary had killed large number. The
terrapin is by nature a cold-blooded rep
tile, and with the coming of the first
frosts he begins to locate himself for
the winter, and it Is necessary on this
farm TO keep close eye on the weather
and use artificial means for keeping the
terrapin from freezing. The favorite
place for the Information OF the very
large size Is a few inches below the soft
OoZy mud at the head of a three or four
fathOm Vshaped channel in the bed Of
8 creek, about the same distance from
shore to shore. Thousands of such
creeks penetrate the shores and islands
of the Chesapeake, and those less fire.
quented by man are instinctively selected
by the terrapin for its haunts No
matter how long they may remain hi
bernated, they never lose an ounce in
weight, and come out as gay as
cricket in the warm spring, though for
months they have not tasted food or
water.
SIX MONTHS RETREAT.
The time of Information usually lasts
about six months beginning with ap-
preaching frosty weather in the fall and
continuing until warm spring weather.
They burroW a few inches In the mud
and leave at the spot where they disap-
pear q mound, in the middle of which
a hole can be discerned The males in
variably bed in the marshes and among
the rushes Of very shallow ponds, only
Ventur1ng in cold water during the sum-
mer and warmest spring and fall months.
In which time they lead migratory life
in search of food, consisting principally
of small shellfsh and soft shell crabs
There being an abundance of these In the
bay the few remaing terrapin have no
RI 1tIyt tn 1T1Hf IL h.