618 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Mr. Rapcuirre. Is the catch of small smelt? 
Doctor Krenpauu. Six or seven inches long. 
Doctor Gitpert. In fresh water? 
Doctor Kenpatu. There is no commercial fishing in fresh water. 
Mr. Rapvcuirre. You are speaking of protection for the breeding 
smelt ? 
Doctor Krnpatu. There is no protection in the breeding season. 
Great quantities of young smelt that have not attained 1 year of age 
are caught in the fisheries of Casco Bay, and J presume the same 
fisheries see that these little fellows, only a few inches long, are - 
brought into the market when the larger smelts are not present in 
sufficient quantities. I went into Shores’s grocery store one December 
and he had some smelts he was selling for 30 cents a pound. I bought 
a pound of them to examine. There were 41 smelts in that pound. 
In the same month, in Massachusetts, I bought 144 pounds of smelts 
and paid 75 cents for them. There were just 10 smelts in the 14% 
pounds. The small smelts certainly need protection. 
SOUTH ATLANTIC AND GULF FISHERIES 
WORK OF THE FISHERIES BIOLOGICAL STATION AT BEAUFORT, N. C. 
By Dr. S. F. HILpEBRAND 
Of all living animals, none remind one quite so much of the giant, clumsy, 
lumbering reptiles of prehistoric times as do the turtles, tortoises, and terra- 
pins. Some of these animals, such as the leather turtle and the loggerhead, 
still reach a very considerable size. The diamond-back, however, is small, 
for it seldom exceeds 7 inches in length when measured on the median line 
of the lower shell. In sluggishness and awkwardness it is quite the equal of 
its larger relatives, and ample evidence is available to show that this lowly 
creature, which nevertheless possesses meat that is unexcelled in flavor, is 
doomed to meet the fate of its ancient relatives unless man, who is its chief 
destroyer, becomes less destructive and, on the other hand, comes to its rescue 
by means of artificial culture. The rescuer and the perpetuator of the diamond- 
back terrapin has appeared in the form of the United States Bureau of Fish- 
eries, assisted by the fish commission of North Carolina. 
The work at Beaufort concerned with the propagation of the diamond- 
back, as stated in the last report of the commissioner, has definitely passed 
the experimental stages, and practical cultural operations have been begun, 
thanks to the aid given by the State of North Carrtlina. 
There are on hand at the Beaufort station at the present time about 3,330 
adult terrapins, consisting of 2,610 females and 720 males. The State has 
placed 1,760 adult animals there, consisting of 1,320 females and 440 males. 
All of the other breeding animals belong to the experimental lots of the 
bureau, and all of the last-mentioned animals, exclusive of about 370, have been 
grown in captivity. 
About half of the animals belonging to the State were received too late for 
the last breeding season, and the others had not been in confinement long 
enough to become fully acclimated. Quite a few of the bureau’s animals, 
included in the number previously given, are only just maturing. Reproduc- 
tion, therefore, for the past season, considering the large number of adults 
on hand, was very low, as only about 4.360 young have been uncovered to date. 
Only 700 of these are the offspring ci the animals owned by the State, all 
others coming from the experimental stock. I. is expected that the hatch will 
be doubled next summer and that in another year it will climb to 12,000 or 
even 15,000, and that it will continue to climb as more of the bureau’s animals 
mature and the State terrapins become better acclimated, and that a hatch of 
25,000 to 30,000 will result by 1930. 
Even the largest number mentioned is negligible aS compared with the 
number that the fish culturist counts. Numbers hatched and liberated, however, 
may mean little or nothing; the number of animals that are liberated and 
