Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-03-31

(@AvANNAE, Ca, Marcn 19-lt consists mainly OF
man, named Barbee, and lot of sand. IL
~ doesn't try to control the market or squash
competition. 1t doesn't have to. Mr. Barbee mas an
monopoly. he can learn, OF the pro-
ductiOn of genuine diamondback terrapins in captivity
for the excellent that no one else has oeeh
able to master the secret of the business
number have tried, for it is q secret decidedly
worth mastering Mr.. Barbee Matched out 5000 little
terrapns this year and of them will sell in his
third year SO. overhead charges are almost
nothing few of sand and marsh are the estaD-
lshment and the eats fiddler crabs and hsh
which may obtained right at the farm Figure the
profits for yourself.
The unique and remunerative success of Mr. Barbee
that devotion to object in Ire
Twenty-seven years ago he a conductor on a
Savannah which ran out to the Isle
of Hope. BY way of speculation one day he bought
a number terrapins from some negroes at 20 cents
apiece and found that he could sell them in town
for great deal than that. So he bought more.
terrapin presently began shipping them Then ne
retired from the street business and became
terrapin broker, while operating small res
taurant on the side, where he sold terrapin stew.
For years Mr.. terrapin, talked terrapn,
thought terrapin. of Important thoughts
was that he could produce terrapns in captivity
his business could be expanded almost indefinitely
he little she'd lined it with the finest beach
little streams of through it. and placed
therein a number terrapn. Every day he spent
hours smoking mis- pipe and watching his pets live
their lives just as they had in the wild He
found out what they ate and they crawled into
the sand for the winter, and when they came out in
the spring. For long time, however, he could not
discover way of Matching terrapn in captivity
At this point Mr. Barbee veil the
course events This is where the secret comes in.
For he discover way of making the eathery eggs
of the errapins hatch in box of sand-wthout sun
light without artificial heat. He simply puts the
eggs in which specially prepared-and at
a which he foretell almost to the second,
a precocious young terrapin will bite his out of
each of them There is guesswork and no mis-
takes. Mr.. Barbee to rather improved
upon natures methods.
When he announced the world that he had per-
fected a process Matching terrapin without
the aid either artificial heat the scientists
riculed the idea An eminent specialist of the United
States bureau of fisheries pronounced Mr.. Barbee
fraud He said the thing simply couldn't be done.
Thereupon Mr.. Barbee packed number of boxes with
sand and terrapns and and not in wrath, but in
a very determined mood he took a train for Wash
ington There for doubling fishery expert,
the newspaper men, and all and sundry to and
terrapin brought into the world without the aid
of artificial heat sunlight The scientists and
porters arrived in time but punctualy than
the infant reptiles. These trumphanty emerged
their shells at the psychological moment, the
plete dumbfoundng of the scribes and
Since o Barbee's ter
rapin farm have grown apace. Almost every year
Mr.. Barbee goes to New York and matches few ter
rapn in public to give the newspaper something
to write about. And every who Savan-
nath goes out to Barbees terrapin farm and eat
terrapn stew. Mr. Barbee shows and explains abso.
lutely everything-except the secret
TT is something mixed with the sand," is all he
will tell you about that.