Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-08-04
SCARCITY OF FROGS.
IMPOSSIBLE TO BREED THEM FAST
ENOUGH TO SATISFY THE DEMAND.
Insects are Their Only Natural Food
Trog-Ponds That Have Not Paid
How 20 Catch Them.
Correspondence Of tho Richmond Dlspa,cn.i

Trog-Ponds That Have Not Paid
How 20 Catch Them.
Correspondence Of tho Richmond Dlspatch.l
New YORK, August 3, 1899.
10 Is fair to assume that the frog, with all
the force of whatever intellect he may
possess. revolts at the public attention
that Is from time to time directed toward
him. Rehabilitation il naturally OF
shy and retiring disposition. actively seek
ing seclusiOn on all occasions where men
desire to crafty THEN fondness for him.
and II is safe 10 say that he loves men far
less than mel love him.
This is natural. for tho fondness men
have for the queer little amphibian is sole
ly due to the promptings Of the palate and'l
stomach and mans love is death 70 the
frogs Naturally he OBJECTS and shrinks
modestlv from observation when the
hunter pursues him. Nevertheless the
pursuit is kept up. and from year to year
almost countless numbers of the batrach-
ians are slain.
As A TADPOLE.
Mr. Frog begins life as tadpole. and
tadpoles are easily hatched and reared.
The fertile American commercial instinct
from time 20 time selves on the notion that
nothing il much easier than 10 procure
suitable marsh. stock it with tadpoles. fur
nsh cheap food, which Is all that Is As
sumed t. be necessary. and wait for the
tadpoles TO become frogs and multiply.
Then, argue many sanguine persons. II VIII
be easy to supply the market with frogs
legs at thirty or forty or fifty cents a
pound. One proposition which goes 10
support the theory of this scheme Is indls-
putahle. There IS a constant demand IN
all the great markets Of this country Tor
more frogs legs than are ever supplied, aud
the price seldom falls very low.
1t was with view 20 learning the facts
about these FROG farms, how they are con-
Quoted. where they are. and what the inca
sure Of their success have been, that ! APP
piled TO Fish-Commissioner Eugene c.
Blackboard.
FROG-CUITUDE.
"Frog-cuture. said the Commissioner,
"is still in its tadpole state. The facts
are very few and simple. Frogs breed
just like fish. Ii is easy 10 get the spawn
and 20 hatch il ont. As YOU are probably
aware, the hatchings are tadpOles, MI
mute globular mass with vibrating
| tail. These little fellows at first are halt
| transparent, but rapidly darken IN color
and increase in size. After few weeks
the tail shrivels. the legs make an appear
ance. the head separates from the body.
and the tadpOlc has become a frog. He Is
! "A very active and viyacious young person
at this time and eGtsall sorts Of animal food.
Fr0g-culturists az tins STAGE teed HIM with
raw meat. liver. heart and waste that have
been chopped very tise. He grows rapidly
| until lac is six months old and then lnvarl-
ably falls sick and in a majority of cases
| dies The reason appears 10 lie in the diet.
| SO far as we know frog lives on insects.
| He prefers them alive. but when hungry
! eats them when they are dead. In these
cases when frogs have been fed on flies
they have always prospered.
HARD TO RAISE.
asst IS practical impossbilty to get
| enough flies aud other insects to feed
regiment Of these batrachians the trog
| farmer Is compelled TO use meat instead.
| The result is the sickness and mortality
| have described. 1t is SO great a to make
/ all frog-culture q financial failure. Out
| of q hundred frogs anywhere from sixty
| 10 unety-fyo die when they are SIX months
old.
There have been many attempts t rais-
| inc frogs for the market and many are 60
! ing OH today. Thus far none have been
! altogether successful. Seth Green, the
great authority on such matters, tried 1t on
| large scale M Canandalgua. think. lie
| had no trouble In Matching hundreds OF
| thousands If not millions of tadpolcS, and
| even loss trouble IN raising them until they
were five months old. Then they began %
sickcu and die. The mortality increased
until at the end of wear the number
which were left wa, rs incOnslderable as to
| be not worth mentioning.
FArrrNED FOR MARKET.
"Evcn rs it stands, great deal Of work
Is being done. Frogs are. If not raised. ut
| least fed and fattened for the market IN
New York. New Jersey, and especially IN On
tario. Carada. Ieuncs zee, and many OF the
western States. There is wonderful va
riety in the sizes attained. Those around
| this part Of the country are seldom large.
A dozen pair of hind lees from New York
and New jersey weigh a pound On an
average: the same number from Ontario
will run three or four pounds. while from
tennessee and Missouri they 90 as high as
five and even SIX pounds. The consumer
naturally prefers large 10 a small
lcg. This is well illustrated bv
the pricc-lst. Whom the New York
and New Jersey frogs have a monopoly Of
the market. cold weather keeping Cana
dian and high frcights western articles out
of the city. because they cannot be caught
i'm cold weather, they bring from 80 10 80
cents "a pound. When lator on M the year
the Ontario legs are received the domestic
article falls To 20 cents, and the Outarlos
and westerns bring from 80 90 90 cents
pound.
THREE THOUSAND POUNDS or FROG DAILY.
I'm Ontario the frog business is con-
Quoted on large scale. The French ca
nadians inherit their talent in this field
from their ancestors and are more skiltul
than any of their competitors.
The demand for frogs legs increases
much more rapidly than the supply. In
1860 scarcely twenty pounds day were
sold in Fulton Market, while now in 1899
! it is no uncommon thing 10 dispose OF two
and even three thousand pounds IN morn
| ing. At first the demand was confined %
| French and Italians. Americans shared
that curious British prejudice, engcn-
! dered no doubt by the long wars
between England and France, which
regarded beef rs the only food for
q man, frogs, the favorite dclcacy Of
! Paris, as pitiiul substitute for
meat. aud in consequence called every
| Frenchman a frOg-eater.' By degrees the
| Germans and then the Americans began 10
| call for frogs. until finally every hrstciasi
! hotel and restaurant IN the land had them
upon their bill of fare. The difference be-
| tween the demand and supply Is well Illus
| trated bv tine price. Twenty years ago 10
was only about one half of what 1t is now,
and il has increased steadily during that
period. II Is evident 10 any one who gives
| the matter thought that unless frogs are
raised in captivity for the great city mar
| kets that before many years have gone by
the price will be 50 high rs to make the
delicacy a luxury as costly as the finest
| terrapin.
CATCHING FROGS.
I'm catching frogs there has been little
or no change in my recollection. The
favorIte method IS a hook and line with
small piece Of red flannel as a bait. THIS
Is employed more than ali other methods
combined. In Ontario they have prac-
tice which has been used in France and
| Belgium for centuries. They shoot Their
prey with a cross-bow or arblast. The
| bolt transfXes the little reptile and makes
so little noise as not 10 brighten Its
| friends and neighbors. Some sportsmen
use a rife or a FloDert air-gun. The lat
ter is preferable, as the discharge makes
almost no sound. Spearing frogs in the
nighttime is a custom der yed from the
! Indians. A fat boat, powerful lantern,
spear, and two men are all that IS re-
| Quired. The frogs are attracted by the
| light and always face toward il. The light
is reflected by their ewes and 50 betrays
! them TO the catcher Ii the boat is moved
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