The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-22
VALUABLE FARMS
 IN TIE WATER AIIigators, Frogs and Turtles
 Among the Crops MONEY IN THE BUSINESS Frogs Legs Find Ready Market-Ter- rapn Ponds in Maryland-Hun- dreds of Baby Aligators
 Sold Every Year.
MONEY IN THE BUSINESS
From the Washington Post.


 viduals began to discern the financial pos abilities of the business, and now many acres annually yield large and constantly increasing crops of living products suita- ble for food and other purposes
 Of all the water farms the most sin gular are those for alligators. At pres ent there are only two in the world, one at St. Augustine Fla, and the other at Hot Springs, Ark the last named the larger. It is on a small mountain stream that feeds a series of little lakes or ponds These are made use of to form the breed- ing grounds, stock yards and winter quar- ters for this unique farm.
 The alligator is cannibal, and for that reason it is necessary to separate the ponds by means of heavy wire netting and to place reptiles of very nearly the same size in each enclosure. Here they are fed on homeless and unlicensed dogs from the city pound or tainted meat from the packing houses.
 The females are robbed of their eggs as soon as they finish depositng them. These are then placed in an incubator for matching. After being matched the little ones are placed in a separate enclosure to prevent their elder brothers and sisters from eating them. They grow very slow ly, so that alligator feet long is at least 15 years old and one 12 feet long may be anywhere from 75 to 150 years old. Some reach length of 16 or IS feet and are supposed to attain an age of more than 800 years
 Like Sticks of Firewood.
 Alligators lie dormant the colder part of the year. The winter quarters are in a long, low building divided into many compartments. Each compartment con- tains a pool of water through which run steam pipes so that the water can be kept at constant temperature. One small pond will sometimes contain 200 or 300 allgators in this dormant condition, piled on top of one another like so many sticks of firewood.
 Hundreds of baby alligators are sold every year to patrons of the health re- sort at Hot Springs. Reptiles of larger size, from feet in length up to the larg- est that can be obtained, are sold for use as advertising novelties and for exhibition purposes Large numbers are killed, stuffed and mounted in fantastic attitudes.
 Raising frogs for market promises some day to become a very important industry. At the present time there are few frog farms scattered over the country, some of which have been in existence for number of years. Any prejudice which ever existed against frogs legs as food is dying out.
 In making a frog farm several natural pools are selected if possible. Around these fences are COISlIuClcO anu tiiO ponds roofed over with coarse wire to keep out the birds and animals which prey upon the frogs.
 No attempt is made to confine the frogs until near the time for shipment to mar. ket. They are then taken alive at night, with the aid of a torchlight, and con- fined in small pens that can be drained when the frogs are desired for market. Only the hind legs, skinned, are mark eted
 Oyster farming has become a very inn portant business along our coasts, hun dreds of thousands of dollars being in- vested in the seed and plants, while thou sands of persons get remunerative em- ployment where but hundreds were em- ployed in the old days when the dealers depended solely on the natural beds for their supply. At one time nearly all of our immense supply came from the nat ural beds, but now at least two-thirds of the marketed oysters are from planted beds.
 The first clam farm was started in Es- sex Mass, in 1899, and in few years number of acres of the slightly submerged flats along the Essex river were under cultivation. In making a farm small clans were dug on the natural beds and plant ed on these hitherto unproductive fiats about 50 bushels being required to plant an acre properly. The industry has spread up and down the coast until now there are a number of places where clans are cultivated, although the industry is very insignificant as compared with that of oyster cultivation.
 Scallops one of the choicest of the mol lusks, are cultivated artificially at va rious places around Long Island, whence the edible portion is shipped to the leading markets of the country.
 Demand for Terrapin.
 While the supply of diamondback terra pin is constantly growing smaller, the de- mand is steadily on the increase if it could be supplied at anything short of prohibitive prices. A few years ago all the terrapin wanted could be had for $l0 a dozen and less; today they bring from $50 to $100 a dozen, and even at this price it is difficult to secure them. Crisfield, Md. is now the chief source of supply, although numbers come from the terra pin farms of North Carolina and Thun- derbolt, Ga.
 At Crisfield terrapin pounds are con- structed by fencing in a large tract of march land The interior of this is then divided into a number of compartments 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 swinl-
  Here they are fed twice week with bushels of crabs and fish.
 Finally large sand beds are constructed where the females may lay their eggs, to be matched by the heat of the sun. These beds are frequently examined and ythe young terrapin are removed. The young when first matched are perfectly soft, anu 1t takes a number of days for the shell to harden Just before being sent to market the mature terrapin are frequent ly fed for several weeks on celery, which imparts to their meat a delicious flavor.
 The place among gastronomical deica- cies occupied by the damondback terra pin and the green turtle in this country is taken by the "suppon, or snapping turtle in Japan. Thanks to the genius and patience of MT. Hattori, who has es- tablished highly successful farms where this reptile is cultivated the Japanese need fear no famine of "suppon."
 In general appearance turtle farm is at first glance nothing but a number of rect angular ponds of various sizes, the larg- est having an area of about 10000 square feet One or more of the ponds is all ways reserved for large breeding indiyid- uals, or ''parents,' as they are called. In the Japanese farms a workman goes around the parents" pond once a day and covers with wire basket all the new 1 deposits made since the last visit. Each basket is marked with the date. Many hundreds of these baskets are always to be seen on the banks of each great pool They not only inform the proprietor and his helpers where to watch for the young, but also prevent other female turtles from digging where eggs have already been de- posted. The average period elapsing be- fore the baby .suppons' are matched is