Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-08-19
IpEAuFoRT FARM OF TERRAPINs.
| Diamond Back Terrapin Culture on
pig scale In Eastern Carolina.

1 Diamond Back Tefrap1n CuLluIS OA
Big Scale In Eastern Carolina.
The Elizabeth City Ino6peolent car
i ries the following interesting account
ne diamond back terrapiil culture Id
Eastern Carolina. the story being Illus
a trated with pictures Of the farm:
Down at Beaufort, N c., is5a Ter
4 rapfn ram. This unique industry was
i established in April 1913. Next year
LII will market the first crop of Diamond
Il Back terrapin. 1t expects to put on
the market not less than 10000 Dla-
/ nnon6 Backs q year. With Diamond
Back terrapin selling at $40 to $50 q
i dozen, this crop Of 10000 terrapins will
be sure enough money crop.
About 15 years ago, the United States
department Of fisheries was SO alarm
ed by the threatened extinction of the
Diamond Back terrapin, that steps
| were taken to study this reptile with
/ an eye to its conservation. The first
attempt at breeding the terrapin was
made at Crisfeld, Nd, and was nearly
la failure. The experiment was then
taken up at the U. s. Fisheries Labra-
| tory at Beaufort The experiments at
| Beaufort were so successful that DR..
G.. L. Duncan, of that place, decided to
Il
| following the methods developed by
the governments experiments Dr.
Duncan enlisted the cooperation of a
kindred soul up in New York, by the
name of f. e. Williams. Mr.. Williams
has farm where he is raising silver
| tail foxes and he was not at all skep-
, teal of the idea Of raising terrapins.
A site for the terrapin farm was
found on, a creek just outside of Beau
/ fort. Then began the hunt for breed
ers. Terrapin hunters were sent out
all over the coastal country of Eastern
North Carolina and several thousand
adult male and female Diamond Backs
were captured and impounded on the
terrapin farm.
To be exact, 5000 lady terrapins and
half as many gents were got together
for the experiment. These prosaic,
conservative reptiles, finding them
selves thrown together so promiscu-
ously in such close quarters, few eggs
produced the first year.
The lady terapins who had with NAL.
thusian reluctance deposited but one
or two eggs the first year, abandoned
their MalthuSianism for q Roosevelt
tianism. They are now laying to IA
eggs each in a summer. No lady ter
rapin is known to have ever laid more
tnan IA eggs in a season.
On a warm summers day, Mrs. Ter
rapin crawls upon the bank Of the |
pond and digs a hole in the bed Of |
sand which has been provided for her.
Settling herself down in this hole, she |
deposits her eggs. After making her
deposit, she covers it up and leave it |
to time, to sun and to chance. It takes |
just So summer days for the eggs to |
hatch. It is estimated there are now
$4,000 to 1900 eggs in the beds on DIR. I
Duncan's farm and it is confidently ex-
pected that nearly all of. these will |
hatch.
The baby terrapins are kept in
pounds by themselves, away from the
larger reptiles. These pounds are
protected by netting, so that the little
fellows will not be preyed upon by
hawks and other predatory birds. They
are most carefully guarded until the
second year, when they are trans
planted to other pounds.
DR.. Duncan now has 2,100 one year
Did terrapins in his pounds and $50
TWO year old terrapins. The. two
years old terrapins are the ones that
will be ready for market next year.
The terrapin farm has exploded a :
lot of theories about terrapins and a
set many of the governments calcula-
ions. Scientists have always declared
hat Diamond Back will put on only
IN inch OF growth in a year. AS six
inches is considered the best size for
/ marketable terrapin, one would ex-
pect to wait six years to market his
drst terrapin crop. DR.. Duncan has
demonstrated the growth of the terra
pin may be forced. Many of his two
year old terrapins have attained a
growth OF five inches.
The terrapin grows slowly in his
natural state because he is lazy; too
lazy indeed to rustic for living. He
can subsist upon very small QUANTITY
Of food and will not bother himself to
secure more than he positively needs.
He will fast for a week, rather than
exert himself to catch a drowsy min
now.
DR.. Duncan feeds his terranins
every other day, giving them 200 to 900 /
pounds OF scrap fish and crab meat.
which has been found ample for the
colony OF 5000 or more teFrapins large
and small. The fish and crabs are
chopped up and thrown upon boards
within easy reach OF the reptiles.
Many OF them are actually too lazy to
tear up the carcass Of dead fish for
themselves. But when a tempting lot
OF crab meat is chopped up fine and 1
served to them on nice clean boards in
the sun, the little rascals will crawl
all over each other to get to the feast
I: is interesting even then to watch
some Of the reptiles who are too lazy
to crawl up on the boards for. their
food, but linger around the table
awaiting an opportunity to snatch
morsel from some fellow terrapin WHO
has exerted himself to get it.
One discovery made at the terrapin
farm, is that terrapins have sense.