26 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
The catch of terrapins, soon after the flesh came into demand, exceeded produc- 
tion, for the animals could not stand a heavy drain, as they do not reproduce rapidly 
and growth is gained slowly. The natural supply, therefore, was quickly dimin- 
ished. It was quite evident by the beginning of the present century that these 
valuable creatures were being reduced so rapidly that very soon they would be so 
scarce as to make fishing for them unremunerative, if, indeed, the animals were not 
doomed to extinction. In view of the rapid depletion the Bureau of Fisheries (then 
the Fish Commission) instituted an investigation in 1902 on Chesapeake Bay, which 
had for its principal object the determination of the adaptability of the diamond- 
back terrapin to artificial propagation (Hay, 1905). About the same time the State 
of North Carolina, in cooperation with the United States Fish Commission at the 
United States Fisheries Biological Station at Beaufort, N. C., undertook another 
investigation, which consisted principally of an inquiry into the habits and life his- 
tory of the terrapin and the condition of the terrapin industry in North Carolina 
(Coker, 1906). The investigation at Beaufort was discontinued in 1903, but the 
investigations on the Chesapeake Bay were made more comprehensive. In 1904 a 
comparatively large wooden pound was built at Lloyds, Md., which provided facili- 
ties for holding both young and adult terrapins, and suitable sand beds, in which the 
terrapins might lay their eggs, were furnished. The experimental work at Lloyds 
was continued until 1909, when activities were transferred to Beaufort. The series 
of experiments upon which the present report is based dates from that year. 2 
It was learned from the early experiments conducted at Beaufort, N. C., and 
at Lloyds, Md., that adult terrapins would produce eggs when confined in pens; 
also, that the eggs could be transferred from where they were laid to “suitable 
hatching boxes,” where most of them would hatch. Raising the young, however, 
appears not to have been successful prior to the transfer of the work to Beaufort 
and the beginning of the present series of experiments in 1909. 
A number of attempts to raise terrapins in captivity have been made by private 
individuals. Most of the private terrapin “farms,” however, consist of pens, often 
called “crawls,” in which the animals are placed and fed in order to gain growth 
or merely to be held for a better market. However, in 1913 a company was organ- 
ized in Beaufort, which built concrete pounds and a terrapin nursery house and 
provided itself with all the facilities necessary for raising terrapins. A large brood 
stock was obtained, and within a few years from 15,000 to 20,000 terrapins per 
annum were being hatched. This farm progressed nicely until the beginning of the 
World War and the adoption of the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution. 
The cost of labor was more than trippled locally, the market value of terrapins 
dropped, owing to the general curtailment of the use of luxuries during the war, 
and it seems to have been believed by the manager that under prohibition terrapins 
never again would be in demand or command the fancy prices paid for them prior 
to prohibition and the war. In view of these seemingly adverse circumstances, the 
breeding terrapins as well as some of the young that had attained a marketable 
size were sold, and in 1918 the plant virtually was abandoned. The Beaufort 
2 Because of the rather frequent changes in the scientific personnel, the experiments were planned by various individuals. 
The care of the terrapins and the actual work of carrying on the experiments, however, have always been in the hands of Charles 
Hatsel, the station’s able terrapin culturist and foreman. Mr. Hatsel also kept nearly all of the original records, and the success 
of the undertaking is due, in a very large measure, to his interest and painstaking work. 
