Wichita eagle., 1886-09-29
FROGS AND THEIR USES.
THE LEADING CHARACTERISTIC OF
ALL SPECIES IS vORAClTY.

A Dozen Varieties Common to This
Country and Europe-PreparatiOn OF
the Hind Quarters for Food-How Frogs
Are Caught.
Almost every one is familiar with the ap-
pearance of the frog, as the frog family is dis
tributed over every part of the globe. In
America there are about dozen varieties, but
only two of these are used for food The frog
lives in water the greater part Of the time,
but it is often found on the land q long dis
tance from any water. The noise or croak-
ing that they make, usually heard at night,
is well known, and has often proved Of great
annoyance to persons Of delicate nerves, keep
ing them awake for hours, and frequently
preventing sleep at oil. The bull frog, whose
noise resembles in diminutive degree the
believing of a bull. is probably the greatest
annoyance, and obtained its name from the
peculiar cry it makes. They are very tena-
cious 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 supposed to
be extinct, and yet survive the wounds In
deed, frogs are frequently found minus a leg
or arm, swimming about as well as when
their forms were perfect. They will even
show signs of life after their entrails and
heads have been removed, and advantage has
been taken of this fact by scientific men for
the purpose Of experiment, and to illustrate
many important phenomena
The characteristic of all species of the frog
is voracity: they eat flies, insects, worms and
even smaller frogs; but, singular to relate,
they do not touch these unless they are alive
and in motion Prof. Doremus used to ro-
late an anecdote about some frogs LIE was
keeping in a box for experimental purposes,
which shows their voracious propensities.
There were about dozen Of thu 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 tho
box he was astonished to find only one frog
left, which was dead and greatly swollen.
Upon closer inspection he found that the two
large frogs had eaten all tho smaller ones,
and when they could obtain no moro 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
ore considered as edible and used as food by
man. The celebrated edible frog, or green
frog, Of Europe, which the naturalists coll
rama esculenta, is the greatest favorits and
the most sought after in tho European coun-
tries. In the United States tho species called
bull frogs, or shad-frogs arc about the only
kinds that n-e used for culinary purposeR
The European edible frog is Of bright gresa
color above, with black spots, three yellow
stripes along the back, and Of yellowish
color underneath. Our bull frog il familiar
to almost everybody, and somewhat resem-
bles the common European frog.
As general rule the hind quarters Of the
frog are eaten, but in Germany every part,
with the exception OF the intestinss and skin,
is made use Of as food. Many persons will
not eat frogs, believing that they are unclean,
yet they have no hesitation in partsking Of
crabs or Holsters, that feed upon the refuse
animal matter which they find in ths water.
The flesh Of the frog is very white and ton
der, nutritious and deioately favored, and
when nicely cooked, il ono Of tho most dainty
dishes that the gustatory sense Of an epicure
could dcxire, surI,assing in delicacy any Of
fish, flesh or fowl. They ars cooked In vari-
Gus ways, in all Of which their extreme deli
cacy is apparent. They o0 b made into a
broth, fried, stewed or fricassed, - the eater
may desire, but most people who cat them
prefer to have 1em fried. The manner in
which they arc fried in ths prominent restau-
rants is very simple. The lelp, after being well
skinned, ore parboiled for about Eve minutes
in slightly altsd water; they are then planged
into cold water for few moments, and are
taken out TO drain, after which they are
placed in hot pan and fried in the usual
way. The broth can be made in tho same wav
as chicken or beef broth.
In many of the largo European cities it is
q common thing to SEQ the woman flshmoncer
with a barrel or tub on each side Of her, one
containing live frogs and the other 10 hold
the portions that are unfit to be eaten When
a purchaser buys the frogs, the fishmonser
plunges her hand III the barrel holding tho
frogs, pulls out a frog by its hind legs, places
it on the edge Of the other barrel, and with
dcxteroUs stroke Of the knife sewers the
hind legs from the rest OF tho body, which
falls into the barrel. The legs are thea
skinned carefully, and are then ready for
cooking. Tie operation i; repeated until the
order is filled.
The season for frogs extends from March
until 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, because they can be caught much
easier at this season Of 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 hanks
of the streams and ponds The extreme vo-
racity of the frog is easily taken advantage
of, rs it will leap after and siezo almost any
thing that floats on the waters near the banks
having the appearance OF life and motion.
A hook end line, baitec with an insect or
covered with o piece Of red flannel, serves as
a good tempter to the frog. who will gener- |
ally seize it without hesitation or difficulty.
After being caught they are preserved in |
large frog ponds, or @froggeries," as they are |
called, until they are required for the mar
ket. The proprietors Of these "froggeries" |
send the frogs to market at regular intervals,
and they are kept alive until the customers |
purchase them. The principal places where |
they are sold in quantities are the New York |
and Boston markets, where they can be OBJ !
tanned from number Of fish dealers. The |
prices range from fifty cents to g per dozen,
according to the size, appearance and quality, |
but when they reach the restaurants their |
value becomes greater, depending up , the |
purses and appetites Of the customer
Advantages of the Cyclone Cellar.
A number Of persons in this town ore ,,;nld.
ing cyclone cellars-undergroun retreats up-
holstered with large limestone recks-into
which they can crawl away when O cyclone
nay happen to be going through the country.
Some people feel above the cyclone cellar.