The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-05-30
Frogs an Article OF Food.

Frogs, which have. until very recently, been
left by common consent, to foreigners, espe-
cially the French and Italians, have, so we
learn from an exchange, become exceedingly
popular as an edible among our native Yam
KEGS. All the frs t-class hotels and favorite
restaurants in some Of our New England cities,
place them upon their regular bills of fare, and
they are consumed in great quantities, as free
Iy as steaks or CHOPS. One Boston hotel aver
ages go dozen per day through the year, the de-
mand in summer being greater than in winter;
as the "caich" is smaller in the latter season.
The frog-catching season proper, however, lasts
from the early spring, when the first s'croaker'
makes his presence known after the disappear
ance Of the ice, until the latter part of Septem-
Der or-midde of October After this, it is sup
posed, the frogs bury themselves in the muddy
bottom of the ponds and lie in dormant state
until spring opens again. In May the bust
ness of catching begins in earnest and contin-
ues without interruption throughout the sum-
mer. The professional outfit of frog catcher
is pair Of long legged rubber boots, SCOOP
net attached to long pole, small gun and
suitable bag for conveying the booty home.
The gun is only used when the coveted batra-
chians are beyond the reach OF the net, but it
sometimes happens that particularly dSsira-
BILE frog perches himself in fancied security
upon stone or log just out OF reach, and on
such occasions the gun is called into requisi-
ton, but no frogs are killed at the time of cap
ture If it can possibly be avoided, as it is espe
cially desired TO secure them alive in order
that they may be properly fatted for the mar
kets. A first class catcher, who was fortunate
in striking a good hunting ground, at favor
able season of the year, has been known to
bring back over 60 dozen of frogs as the result
of his days labor, but if an average of 30 doz-
ems are taken each day. 1t is considered very
satisfactory.
After the frogs have been secured and con-
veyed home, those that have been killed are
Immediately dressed and sent to the markets.
The heads are cut off and the body is split
down the under side and the skin carefully re-
moved. Then they are carefully washed sew
eral times to cleanse them of all particles of
spawn or other extraneous matter. The legs
are generally separated from the body, because
most places serve only the former to their Gus
toners, but others purchase the frogs whole
and use the bodies aud fore legs in stews and
fricasses. The living animals are placed in
large hogsheads filed with fresh water, in
which they are allowed to stay for several
Gays, and during this time they are regularly
fed with chopped fresh meat and fish, celery,
cabbage and other green vegetables, until they
are we'll fatted and in condition to be killed
and exposed for SALE
The frogs that are caught in distant towns
are shipped to their destination by express,
alive, in boxes especially constructed for the
purpose. These boxes are arranged with sew
eral Stat floors which are covered with wet grass
or moss, ana the mortality among the animals
sent in this way is comparatively small. The
matter of keeping live frogs through the win
ter in quantities sufficient to supply the mar
kets, requires considerable labor. A room has
to be prepared with moss floor, and the tenn
perature of the room and of the water of the
tanks in which the frogs are confined must be
kept very even, and every frog, at least once
week, must be taken from the water and al
lowed to run loose upon the messy floor, to
keep them in good condition. Some idea of
the extent of the business can be gained from
the fact that one dealer handles nearly 500
dozens of frogs every week during the summer
months, and $50 dozens each week in the win
ter, making total of 10000 frogs yearly. The
average price obtained for them is from go to
65 cents per dozen. The Irish people were the
last to take up the custom of eating frogs, but,
as a matter of fact, the largest orders now
come from them.