Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-03-31
DIXIE GOES AHEAD The Terrapin Trust.
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN.

MANY distinguished persons have come to wonder
Of this unioue method of artificial incubation. VIII
liam Jennings Bryan journeyed to the farm and Mr.
Barbee placed in his hand just as the youthful
terrapin stroled forth. the delight and amazement
of the statesman The infant terrapin is most pre-
cocious appealing mite. Mr. Barbee sells them
for so cents apiece as pets Society have been
known to keep them in mahogany boxes with brass
trimmings sThey display good deal of intelligence,
and become very One young lady terrapn by
the of Toby has spent her entire life of two
years in Mr.. Barbees pocket She hs1 been hancied
by thousands of persons, and is known to everyone
Savannah Her chief accomplishment is w1ping her
eyes with forefoot when told to do so.
The sale of these young terrapins at so cents each
lust about pays expenses of operating the plant
leaving from the sale of the greater part
of the stock at SO each as clear profit.
The demand for diamond-back terrapin is not
large one; but it is much larger than the supply.
Mr. Barbee that the younger generation does
not appreciate terrapn and seldom eats it except for
the of splurging The neyday of the terrapins
fame was before war, when these toothsome rep
tiles abundant all over the south Today they
are chiefly appreciated by persons who learned to eat
long ago. Very conservative clubs where elderly
coonels and majors foregatner, and expensive
which must have the most expensive foods on
their menus, Mr. Barbees best customers. and they
take all that produce. He does something OF
business in canned terrapin. and mysterious China
in Philadelphia buys all the old males that are
too tough be eaten What he does with them. no.
body knows
The life habits of the terrapin most peculiar,
make him a very inexpensive creature to raise.
Every year in October he bures himself in the sand,
and remains until the following spring in dormant
condition. OF he eats nothing during this
riod, Furthermore, out weighing exactly
what did when he retired. His life is fine proof
benefits of abundant Sleep for he has practically
diseases and lives to a very old
Three times a week the sandy floor of the shed
where the terrapns kept flooded, and they
fed with fiddler crabs and bits of fish which are
thrown upon the The hddlers caught in
great numbers by little negro boys, and fed
the terrapins alive Occasionally a crab succeeds in
burying himself in the sand if he is not wanted imme
diately; his escape is only temporary. The ter
rapin always remembers exactly where the crab
and when he becomes hungry, ne patiently camps at
the mouth of the hole until the chooses
out.
The sand arranged in mounds, with little streams
of water running between them. From April to Sep
TENDER the deposit their in these mounds
They are then gathered placed in the sand incu
bators where they hatch out in February. The young
terrapins, exception of those intended for
immediate sale, a fourteen-acre marsh,
by palisade of palmetto logs; and here they
spend early days without any
They grow only about a fourth of inch during the
first year. and it takes them six years to attain
length of six inches Terrapns of larger size
dom
Barbee's establishment at the Isle Of Hope, which
grew from his first speculation in terrapins when he
was street conductor, is now estate of many
acres and buildings including hotel, dancing pavil
fon restaurant, strangely assorted zoo-for Mr.
Barbees for animals is not limited to terra
pins. He insists upon driving FLOODED trotter in
stead of an automobile. The financial evolution Of
the terrapin trust sufficiently indicated by stc
pin which he his necktie. It large golden
terrapin the back Of which is set with diamonds.