The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-05
THE TooTHsoME TERRAPIN.
Maryland Farm Where the Diamond Backs are Carefully Reared.

NGW 1OTk IElDuHc- A diamond back terrapin farm, with more than 15, 600 in stock, and worth fully $60. .006, is one of the interesting industries of Crisfield, Md.
 When Washington and Lafayette were forced to eat terrapin at Yorktown De- cause the army supplies were low; when counties in Maryland passed laws pro hibiting the feeding of slaves ottener than twice week on terrapin meat m orler to save pork, and when the suc- culent reptiles" were cooked for food TOT fowls ana swine, and could be bought TOT $1 an OK cart load. no one dreamed that the day would come when the terrapin would be almost extinct and worth as much as $l60 dozen. But such IS the situation today, andS.n this region, the most productive of the luscious dlamonu back of the Chesapeake, they are careo for and guarded with greater anxiety TOT their safety than were the slaves in the days when they protested against being gorged on terrapin meat.
 Believing that good money could be made in "cultivatng' terrspins, A. T: Lavalette, q grandson of Rear Admiral E. A. Lavalette decided to embark in the business and ne has no cause 10 re- eret this decision. He knew the Chesa- peake thoroughly, having been engaged actively in the oyster, crab and terrapln
 business for more than fourteen years; and there was no question Tn ms mlhu but that 1t would be only lew years before terrapins would bring almost faou- . home on the shore, adjoining whlcn ne built his terrapin farm, covering aoopt seven acres, everything was arranged to suit their habits. The farm IS olVlueo il- to pens with high board fences, and wire screens cross the siuiceways, In tness pens there Is water, grass and sand, ana Mr. TerTapin can take ms cnoice as to where to spend his time Flank WaINS high above the water and marsh are con structed over the farm, and when MT :. Layalette wishes to feed his valuable reptiles he simply goes out on one or I1. iness elevations and claps his hands oRetner, !, making loud noise. In an instant the terrapins come helter skelter from ths sand marsh and water and huddle unoer the walk where he stands, Whie ulose u,se in the other pens crawl against the "hS screens and fences in an effort to get through They sometimes crawl on one another until they are three Feet thtcA. and occasionally there are some pretty lively fights though terrapln IS not gen eralIv very pugnacious. They are fed on era ns fish and meats of every kind, but are smalP eaters. It is seldom that terrapin will. attack any living thlng larger than a fly or small pug.
 Mr Lavalette has terrapin or all sizes. Their growth is remarkabl slow ana It is estifnated' that at least forty years IS required for terrapin 10 attaln ts 'Ia Iuai growth The diamond back seloom grows to be over nine inches in length, meas ured by the stomach or under shell; Ihe terra min is by nature a cold-blooded rep- tile and with the coming Of ths lhrst frost he begins to locate himself Tor the winter, and 1t is necessary to keep civsS eve on the weather and use artlnclal means for keeping the terfapln from freezing The favorite place Tor the hl- bernation of the very large sizes IS d few inches below the sott oozy ihuu 1s the bend of three or four fathom shaped channel in the bed of a creek or about the same distance from shore to shore. Thousands of such creeks pene- trate the shores and islands of the Ches- apeake, and those less trequented by man are instinctively selected by the terrap!n for it's haunts. No matter how long they may remain hibernatcd they never lose an ounce of weight, and come out in the late spring as gay as crickets, though for months they have not tasted food nor water. The time of Information usu- ally lasts about six months. They bury a few inches in the mud, and leave at the spot they disappear small mound, in the middle of which hole may be dis. cerned. It is the mound and the hole which first attract the hunter and fish erman. During this period the terrapin is caught in the torpid state. At least 90 per cent of those taken from the beds of deep creeks will measure from six and One-half to eight and one-haf inches, with an average weight of two and three SO per cent of those bedded In marshes have an average weight of one pound, and measure less than five inches, and are males. The latter always bed in the marshes and among the rushes of shat low ponds, only Venturing in cold wa spring months in which times they lead a migratory life ID search of food, con sisting principally of small shellhsh and crabs.
 market value beiaS 50 high, the shores