Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-07-24
Facts About Frogs.

Frogs are announced on the DIS OF tare OF the |
prominent restaurants of this city, aud are be-
coming a favorite dish among the epicures
and gourmands whose purses correspond to
their tastes. 1t is usual to associate irog-eaung
with Erenchmen, as the people OF that nation
were, without doubt, the first to make use OF
them as table dish, and TO introduce them to
the epicureS of other countries, who were not
long in creating an appetite for these dainties,
and soon grew as fond of them as their nei9hbor.
II is more than three hundred years since they
were first placed among the dishes at the mobiles
feasts and the favor which they found has been
continually increasing until now, when they are
used as food in nearly all the countries Of Eu-
rope and also in America.
The physicians of Europe early made use of
the nutritious properties of the flesh of the frog
in their practice, prescribing it generally in the
shape of broth for various affections of the chest
and particularly consumption This practice is
still in vogue throughout the sparsey settled
districts of our ownicountry, and in the western
states it is a common occurrence for those who
are affected with disease of the chest to live on
frog diet. Frogs cooked in oil and salt were
considered by the ancients an excellent antidote
TO the poison of serpentS, and when boiled in
vinegar were used as remedy for the tooth
ache.
Almost every one is familiar with the appear
ance of the frog, as the frog family is distributed
over every part of tine globe. In America there
are about dozen varieties, but only two or
the greater part of the time but it is often found
on the land long distance from any water.
They are excellent swimmers, and their style OF
swimming has been taken as model for man
to become proficient in this art They are found
in ponds, marshes, pools, woods, and other
damp localities, and are very prolific, the fe-
male often producing as many as thousand
young frogs, which are hid under stones, logs,
or in holes in the ground until the genial rain
of the spring showers falls, when they come out
Of their hiding places and are scattered over the
land, leading one TO imagine that they dropped
with the rain, and it can be readily understood
how the ancients supposed this to be an actual
fact. The noise or croaking they make, usually
heard at night, is well known, and has often
proved a source of great annoyance to persons
of delicate nerves, keeping them awake for
hours, and frequently preventing sleep at all.
The bul-frog, whose noise resembles in a di-
minutive degree the believing of bull, is
probably the greatest annoyance, and obtained
its name from the peculiar cry it makes They
are very tenacious of life, even as much so as
the cat, which is said to have nine lives; they
may be manned and mangled until life is sup
posed to be extinct, and yet survive their
wounds. Indeed, frogs are frequently found
minus Il leg or arm, swimming about as well
as when their forms were perfect. They will
even show signs of life after their entrails and
hearts have been removed, and advantage has
been taken of this fact by scientific men for the
PS5N 'AN'--J
important phenomena.
The characteristic of all species of the frog is
voracity; they eat flies insects, worms and even
smaller frogs; but, snguarly to relate, they do
not touch these unless they are alive and in mo-
ton. Prof DoremuS used to relate an anecdote
about some frogs he was keeping in box for
experimental purposes, which shows their yora-
ciOus propensties. There were about dozen
of the frogs, and among the number were two
unusually large ones. He had kept them for
several weeks, but the attendants had neglected
to feed them for number of days, and upon
going to the box he was astonished to find only
one frog left, which was dead and greatly swol-
len Upon a closer inspection he found that the
two large frogs had eaten all the smaller ones,
and when they could obtain no more food the
larger of these two had swallowed the smaller,
but had died in the effort.
OF the dozen or more varieties common to this
country and Europe, only two or three arc con-
sidered edible and used as food by man. The
celebrated edible frog, or green frog of Europe,
which the naturalists call rama eSculentd, is the
greatest favorite and the most sought after in
the European countries In the United States
the species called bull-lrogs, or shad-frogs, are
about the only kinds that are used Tor culinary
purposes. The European edible frog is of
bright green color above, with black spots, three
yellow stripes along the back, and of yellow
ish color underneath. Our bull-frog is familiar
to almost everybody, and somewhat resembles
the common European frog.
ASIA general rule, only the hind quarters of
the frog are eaten, but in Germany every part,
with the exception of the intestines and skim is
made use Of as food. Many persons will not
cat frogs, believing that they are unclean, yet
they have no hesitation in partaking OF crabs or
Holsters that feed upon the refuse animal mat
ter which they find in the water The flesh of
the frog is very white and tender, nutritious and
delicately favored, and when nicely cooked is
one of the most dainty dishes that the gusta-
tory sense of an epcure could desire, surprising
in decacy any of fish, flesh or fowl. They are
cooked in various ways, in all ofwhich their ex-
treme decacy is apparent. They can be made
into broth, fried, sewed, or fricasseed, as the
eater may desire, but most people who eat them
prefer TO have them fried. The manner in which
they are fried at the prominent restaurants is
very simple. The legs, after being well skinned,
are parboed for about Eve minutes in slightly
sailed water; they are then plunged into cold
water for few moments and are taken out to
drain, after which they are placed in a hot pan
and fried in the usual way. The broth can be
made in the same way as chicken or beef broth.
The season for frogs extends from March I'M
I'll November. They are in the best condition
for table use in the fall, just before going into
winter quarters, although more are eaten in
the spring and early part of the summer, be-
cause they can be caught much easier at this
season oil the year. They are caught in various
ways, by means of nets, hooks, and the like,
and sometimes by beating them with long poles
as they sit on the banks of the streams and
ponds. The extreme voracity of the frog is
easily taken advantage of, as it will leap after
and seize almost anything that floats on the
waters near the banks, having the appearance
of life, and in motion. A hook and line baited
with an insect, or covered with piece of red
flannel, serves as good tempter to the frog,
who will generally seize it without hesitation
or difficulty. After being caught, they are pre-
served in large frog ponds, or froggeries, as
they are called, until they are required for the
market. There are number of these irOggeries
on Long Island, in Westchester county, and in
New Jersey, from whence our city markets are
supplied. The proprietors of these froggeries
send the frogs to market at regular intervals,
and they are Kept alive until the customers pur-
chase them. The principal places where they
are sold in quantities in this city, ale Fulton,
Catharine and Washington markets, where they
can be obtained from number OF fish dealers.
The prices range from fifty cents to 50 per
dozen, according to the size, appearance and
quality; but when they reach the restaurants
their value becomes much greater, depending
upon the purses and appetites of the customers.
Several of the hotels and large restaurants are
supplied directly from the froggeries, and do not
purchase from the market dealers, but the ma
jority obtain them from the marketmen as their
demands require them.
In many OF the large European cities it is a
common thing to see the WOmGu ffsImUr1gtrs
containing the live frogs, and the other to hold
the portions thatare unfit to be eaten. When d
purchaser buys the frog, the ishmonger plunges
her hand in the barrel holding the frogs, pulls
out frog by its hind legs, places it on the edge
oil the other barrel, and, with deXtrOus stroke
of the knife, sewers the hind legs from the rest
of the body, which falls into the barrel. The
legs are then skinned carefully, and are then
ready for cooking. The operation is repeated
until the order is filled.
DR.. Livingstone speaks of a large African
frog called the matlametlo, of which his children
partook with eagerness and delight. After a
thunder shower the pools Of the African desert
are alive with them, and the natives believe they
are born of the thunder cloud and descend TO
the earth with the rain. The natives cat them
constantly, and also the common toad, which is
considered by most persons in this country as
unfit to be eaten
The croaking Of the frog is seldom heard in
the city now, except in few localities in the
upper part of the city where the sunken lots re-
main, and in the ponds in the Central park. Be
fore the upper part Of the city became as thicky
populated rs it is at the present time, the bows
from "down town" used to make frequent ex.
cursions TO the marshes and ponds of the neigh.
borhood where Central park is located, to catch
frogs and gold fish, and were usually success.
full About fifty years ago the locality near
West Broadway, from White to Canal Streets
was known as "Frogtown," receiving its title
from the quantity Of frogs which abounded
there in the low marshy grounds which are now
person wants to catch mess Of frogs, nova.
In Coli I.n t,apt a