500 HISTORY AND METHODS OF TIIE FISHERIES. 



of four or five hoops, about 3 feet in diameter, placed near each other, so as to make the total length 

 of the trap about 4 feet. The hoops are covered with net. At each end there is a funnel, arranged 

 after the manner of a lobster-pot. Bait in the form of fish is suspended near the center. 



The trap is used in the summer months, when the terrapins are moving about in the water. 

 It is set in the places most frequented by the terrapins. A pole is driven firmly into the mud, and 

 the trap is fastened to it in such a manner that a part of it remaius about the surface of the water. 

 The object of this mode of setting is to allow the terrapins which enter the trap to breathe the air, 

 without which they would drown in a short time. There is an opening on one side of the trap, 

 through which the terrapins are taken out and the trap baited. 



The hunting of terrapins with dogs seems to be confined to this locality. This method is car- 

 ried on most extensively during the spawning season, when the terrapins come out of the water to 

 deposit their eggs, and many nests are broken up. It is, therefore, the most objectionable of all 

 modes now in use. The modus operandi is to set the dog to follow along the water line until he 

 comes to the track of a terrapin which has come out of the water. He takes the trail at once and 

 follows it to the nest in the grass or bushes. When the terrapin is discovered the dog begins to 

 bark, giving the signal to his owner, who, coining, picks it up and starts the dog on another trail. 



A number of terrapins also are sent to market from two "pounds," as they are called, in which 

 the catch is confined until there is a good demand. There are two such pounds in this region, one at 

 Roanoke Island, built in 1875, and one at Sladesville, built iu 1877. In 1875 and 1876 there were 

 others at New Berne, but they are now discontinued. 



There seems to have been no sale of terrapins in this region prior to 1849, when Capt. John B. 

 Etheridge, at that time keeper of Body's Island light, caught 2,150 in February by dredging about 

 the southern part of Roauoke Island. He took the catch to Norfolk and sold it for $400. Return- 

 ing immediately he captured 1,900 more terrapins, and sold them in Baltimore for $350. The news 

 of his success spread rapidly, and many men went into the business and prosecuted it with such 

 vigor that the terrapins were shortly almost exterminated. Improvements were made in the 

 original dredge, oyster tongs were brought into use, and dogs were employed. 



The principal market supply is sent from the pounds, but some other dealers abo send some 

 during the winter months. On account of the general distribution of the terrapin over the whole 

 section many are picked up by farmers and others, and while the majority of these are eaten, a 

 small proportion are shipped to market. The principal local markets are Roauoke Island, Slades- 

 ville, Washington, and New Berne. 



In the markets the terrapin are divided into three grades, according to size, namely: "counts," 

 " heifers," and "bulls." " Counts " are those whose under shell measures over 6 inches iu length ; 

 " heifers " have the under shell between 5 and 6 inches long, and all whose under shell is less than 

 5 inches in length are "bulls." The number taken at present is about one-third less than in former 

 years. In 1879 the catch, including those eaten by the fishermen, was about 4,000 counts, 4,000 

 heifers, and 9,000 bulls, or about 17,000 tenapins in all. Of these about 3,000 were sent to New 

 York, 5,000 to Philadelphia, and 2,000 to Baltimore. 



The capital invested in dredges and traps is about $1,500. 



TERRAPIN CULTURE. At Roanoke Island there is a large " pound." in which terrapins arc to 

 be raised for market. The inclosure contains about 4 acres, of which three-fourths are covered 

 with water. The bottom in this part is soft and muddy and covered with grass. The remaining 

 acre is sand. The pound is arranged so that the tide ebbs and flows, passing in and out through 

 a brick sluice-way, which is protected at the mouth by a wire screen. The tide rises and falls 

 about 1 foot. 



