Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-11-06

OF marsh land is surrounded by high
board fence, extending from two TO
three feet into the mud. The interior
is then divided into a number OF COM
partments containing the terrapin in
order of their size. Then ponds and
canals are dug, SO that the tides can
have free sweep through the pounds,
and wire netting is used to prevent
the terrapin from swimming from one
compartment to another.
Finally large sand beds are con-
structed, where the females may lay
their eggs to be Matched by the heat
Of the sun. These beds are frequently
examined, and the young terrapin are
removed. The young, when first
Matched, are perfectly soft, and it
takes a number Of days for the shell
to harden. 1t is stated that the newly
Matched terrapin will not come out OF
the sand at all during the first season
il lett to its own inclination. One
dealer now has large box filled with
young which were Matched in his
pound last summer. The terrapin in
the pounds are fed regularly on hard
shell crabs and seem to get along
very we'll
Catching terrapin for market was
once more or less followed as a bust
ness all along the bay shores, but it
is now practically an incidental OF the
Waterman's life, as the scarcity of
the game makes the hunt improbable.
1t is considered a great piece OF luck
at present to find a diamond back or
two snuggled down in the mud.
Dredging for them with drags some
what resembling the crab net was
lucrative at one time, but is now al
most forgotten. The few found are
taken in a different way.
Hunting the Diamond Back.
The diamond back hunter goes out
on the marshes with a slender iron
bar, or prod" which he sticks down
at intervals Of about inches in spots
which look to him as though likely to
hide the prey. Early in the fall the
terrapin go to the marshes and bury
themselves in the soft mud to the
depth Of a foot Or more. Many sink
IN the mud at the bottom &C a MUSK
rat run. Others select some retired
pond and disappear from sight in it's
ooze. In these places the ''prodder"
hunts, usually after the first winter
thaW of ice. The terrapin then seem
to rise almost 20 the top of the mud
and sink again, leaving a distinct de-
preston as it settles back in place.
When struck with the blunt end of
the iron prod the hunter pulls the
quarry out with a little hook in one
end of the bar. Sometimes a piece of
wood is struck with the rod The
novice is unable to distinguish be-
tween the sound made upon the
wood and the ring of a terrapin's back,
but to the experienced hunter it is
quite different, and he seldom makes
mistakes. TIE old hunters say that
the te grapin never hibernates in deeD
water, but always seeks the shadows
or the marshes in which to bury for
the winter.
A Fortune In Supplies.
In collecting terrapin enough for a
shipment the reptiles are sometimes
kept for several weeks out of their
native element. They are usually
stored in dry and temperate room
or box until ready to be sent to mar
ket.
The desultory collector or one not
regularly in business usually ships his
terapin to market in small lots soon
after securing them, and they are Kept
in the storage houses of city dealers
until wanted. They are usually placed
in dry room or large box AMI left to
shift for themselves. One local dealer
states that his firm has had $4,000
worth on hand at time, ''but that
hasn't been within the last 10 years."
he added. The bay shore collectors