360 CHELOXIA 



CHAP. 



of which were supplied by the manager of the terrapin-farm at 

 Beaulieu, Georgia. The continued hunting and the unfailing 

 demand for them are making them very scarce, so that enter- 

 prising men have established terrapin-farms or " crawls " for the 

 keeping and breeding of terrapins. The " crawls " in question 

 are near the river. The larger is 310 by 60 feet, and is 

 divided into three compartments for three sizes. The smaller 

 "crawl" is for the babies, and is 100 by 8 feet. Through both 

 " crawls " runs a ditch connected with the river and making a 

 circuit of the farm. The bottom of the " crawls " is on a level 

 with the low tide, and is covered with a layer of mud about six 

 inches deep. Into this the terrapins burrow in the winter. The 

 average population of terrapins is about 40,000, one half 

 " bulls " and the other half " heifers." The latter are much 

 better eating, and grow to a much laruer size, namelv, eight 

 inches on the plastron, while the " bulls '" rarely grow over five 

 inches long. When a female reaches six to eight inches it is 

 called a " count." Those between five-and-a-half to six inches 

 long are known as " two-for-threes," while those from five to five- 

 and-a-half inches are known as "halves." They are fed 

 exclusively on shrimps and craljs on account of the flavour, 

 although they will eat almost anything. The 40,000 consume 

 on an average twenty bushels of crustaceans a day. They are 

 (|uite indifferent to cold. The manager saw some placed in a 

 block of ice and frozen fast to it ; after four or five days they were 

 chopped out, thawed, and were soon as lively as ever. The 

 statement that it takes these terrapins only seven years to attain 

 full commercial growth is surprising, and is probably an under- 

 estimate. At the end of the large "crawl" is a -board to enable 

 the females to creep into a sand-pit, where they lay the eggs 

 from April to June, eight to twelve forming a set. It is necessary 

 to get the babies away from their parents as soon as they hatch, 

 else they will he eaten. The young must not be exposed to the 

 cold. The old ones have a large amount of curiosity. The best 

 way of catching them is for two men to go out in a boat with a 

 net. They row carefully along until they come to a likely spot. 

 Then one man raps several times sharply on the boat with a 

 stick, and if there are any terra^iin about they will come to the 

 surface just as fast as they can get there to see what is going on, 

 ;ind the other man scoops tliem u]) with ;i little net. Another 



