Wichita eagle., 1889-08-29
ABOUT FROGS FOR FOOD.
THEY CANNOT BE RAISED FAST
ENOUGH FOR THE DEMAND.

| Ahsects Their Only Natural EoOd-A
French DeIicacy That Is Now Very Much
in Demand-A Fish Commissioner Talks,
1t Is fair to assume that the frog, with all
the force Of whatever intellect be may DOS
sess. revolts at the public attention that is
from time to time directed toward him.
Brekek-kek-koax is naturally of shy and
retiring disposition actively seeking seclusion
on all occasions where men desire to CRAFTY
their fondneSs for him. and it is safe to say
| that he loves men far less than men love him
This is natural, for the fondness men have
for the queer little amphibian is solely due to
the promptings of the palate and stomach,
and mans love is death TO the frogs" Nat
uraliy, he objects and shrinks modestly from
observation when the hunter pursues him
Nevertheless the pursuit is kept up, and from
year to year almost countless numbers Of the
batrachians are slain
Mr.. Frog begins life as a tadpole, and tad
! poles are easily Matched and reared The
fertile American commercial instinct from
! time to time seizes on the notion that moth
ing is much easier than to procure a suitable
marsh, stock it with tadpoles, furnish cheap
] food, which is all that is assumed to be neces-
sary, and wait for the tadpoles to become
| frogs and multiply Then, argue many san
! guine persons, it will be easy to supply the
market with frogs legs at thirty or forty or
| fifty cents pound. One proposition which
/ goes TO support the theory of this scheme is
indisputable. There is q constant demand in
all the great markets Of this country for more
frogs legs than are ever supplied, and the
price seldom falls very low
FROG CULTURE STILL YOUNG.
It was with view to learning the facts
about these frog farms, how they are con-
Quoted, where they are, and what the meas
ure OF their success has been, that a writer
applied to Fish Commissioner Eugene G.
Blackboard.
Frog culture, said the commissioner, sis
still In its tadpole state. The facts are very
few and simple Frogs breed just like fish.
1t Is easy to get the spawn and to hatch it
out As you are probably aware, the hatch
lngs are tadpoles, a minute, globular mass,
with a vibrating tail These little fellows at
first are half transparent, bat rapidly darken
III color and increase in size. After few
weeks the tail shriyels, the legs make an APP
pearance, the head separates from the body,
and the tadpole has become frog. He is
very active and vivacious young person at
this time, and eats all kinds Of animal food
Frog culturists at this stage feed him with
raw meat, liver, heart and waste that have
been chopped very fine He grows rapidly
until he is six months old, and then invari-
ably falls sick, and in a majority of cases
dies. The reason appears to lie in the diet
So far as we know, a 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
0 'As it is a practical impossibilitv to get
enough flies and other insects to feed regi-
ment Of these batrachians the frog farmer
is compelled to use meat instead. The result
is the sickness and mortality l have describ-
ed. 1t is so great as to make all frog culture
financial failure. Out of hundred frogs,
anywhere from sixty to ninety-five die when
they are six months old
Even as it stands, great deal of work is
being done. Frogs are, if not raised, at least
fed and fattened for the market in New
York, New Jersey, and especially in Ontario
Canada), Tennessee and many of the western
states. There is wonderful variety in the
sizes attained. Those around this part of the
country are seldom large
"a dozen pair of hind legs from New York
'--AN.
age; the same number from Ontario will run
three or four pounds, while from Tennessee
and Missouri they 60 as high as five an even
six pounds. The consumer naturally prefers |
a large TO small leg. This is well Illus
trated by the price list When the New
York and New Jersey frogs have a monopoly |
of the market--cold weather keeping Cana
dian and high treights western articles out
ha in,
cold weather-they bring from 80 to 50 cents
a pound. When, later on in the year, the .
Ontario legs are received, the domestic .
article falls TO 20 cents and the Ontario and /
westerns bring from 10 to 60 cents pound
I'm Ontario the frog business is conducted .
on large scale. The French Canadians in
herit their talent in this field from their an
cestors and are more skillful than any of
their competitors
The demand for frogs legs increases much
more rapidly than the supply. In 1850
scarcely twenty pounds day were sold in
Fulton market, while now it is no uncom-
mon thing to dispose of 1000 and even 5000
pounds in a morning. At first the demand
was confined to French and Italians Amer
leans shared that curious British prejudice,
no doubt by the long wars be-
beef as the only food for 4 man, frogs, the
favorite delicacy Of Paris, pitiful sub
stItute for meat, and i'll consequence called
every Frenchman frog eater. By degrees
the Germans and then the Americans began
10 call for frogs until finally every first class
hotel and restaurant in the land lad them
upon their bill of fare The difference be
tween the demand and supply is well illus
trated By the price. Twenty years ago it
was only about one-half of what it is now,
and II has increased steadily during that
period. 1t is evident 10 any one who gives
the matter thought that unless frogs are
raised In captivity for the great city mar
kets, before many years have gone by the
price viii be 50 high as to make the deicacy
& luxury as costly as the finest terrapin.
In catching frogs there has been little or
no change in my recollection. The favorite
method Is hook and line. with a small piece
Of red flannel as bait This is employed
more ths- all other methods combined. In
Ontario they have practice which has been
used in France and Belgium for centuries;
they shoot their prey With cross bow or
arblast. The bolt transfIes the little rep
tile and makes 50 little noise a. not 10 fright
an its friends and neighbors- Some sports
men use a rife or a Flobert air gun. The
after l. preferable as the discharge makes
almost no sound Spearing frogs In the nigh.
lime is a custom derived from the Indians.
4 fat boat, powerful lantern; spear ana
-wo men are al that is required Tue frogs
ire attracted By the light aud always face
Onward u Tia Eck- tS reflected by &