Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-09-20
ABOUT FROGS n OR FOOD.
THEY CANNOT Be RAISED FAST
ENOUGH FOR THE DEMAND.

& 1t is fair to assume that the frog, with all
thesfarce Of whatever intellect be may pos
sess, reyolts at the public attention that is
from time to time directed toward him.
Brck-ek-kek-koax is naturally Of a shy and
retiring disposition, actively seeking seclusion
oniall 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 thelfondness men have
for the queer little amphibian is solely due to |
the plomptings Of the palate and stomach,
and mans love is death to the frogs Nat
urally, 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 tadpole, and tad
poles are easily hatched and reared. The
fertile American. commercial instinct from
time to time seizes on the notion that moth
ing is much easier than to procure 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 q pound One proposition which
goes to support the theory Of this scheme is
indisputable. There is 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. 6,5|
FROG CULTURE STILL YOUNG.
Itwas with aview 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 writer
applied to Fish Commissioner Eugene G.
Blackford.
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-
ings are tadpoles, a minute, globular mass,
with vibrating tail. These little fellows at
first are half transparent, but rapidly darken
in color and increase in size. After few
weeks the tail shrivels, the legs make an an
pearance, the head separates from the body.
and the tadpole has become frog. He is a
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.
As it is practical impossibility to get
enough flies and other insects to feed regi-
ment of these batrachians the frog farmer
ico 1o6 <rt,,
is the sickness and mortality 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 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 a 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
and New Jersey weigh pound on an aver
age; tue same number from Ontario will run
three or four pounds, while from Tennessee
and Missouri they go as high as five and even
Z six pounds The consumer naturally prefers
large to small leg. This is well illus
trated by the price list. When the New
York and New Jersey frogs have monopoly
of the market-cold weather keeping Cana
dian and high freights western articles out
+ of the city, because they cannot be caught in
cold weatherthey bring from 80 to so 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.
In Ontario the frog business is conducted
on2a 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 Il
The demand for frogs legs increases much
more rapidly than the supply. In 1860
scarcely twenty pounds q day were sold in
Fulton market, while now it is no uncom-
mon thing to dispose Of z, 900 and even s, 600
pounds in morning. At first the demand
was confined to French and Italians Amer
leans shared that curious British prejudice,
engendered no doubt BY the long wars be-
tween England and France, which regarded
beef as the only food for man, frogs, the
favorite delicacy Of Paris, as q pitiful sub
stitute for meat, and in consequence called
every Frenchman a frog eater By degrees
the Germans and then the Americans began
to call for frogs until finally every first class
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 BY the price. Twenty years ago it
was only about one-haf Of what it is now,
and it has increased steadily during that
period. It is evident to any one who gives
y the matter thought that unless frogs are
raised in captivity for the great city mar
kets, before many years have gone by the
4 price will be 80 high as to make the delicacy
q luxury as costly as the finest terrapin.
s In catching frogs there has been little or
h no change in my recollection. The fayorite
method is q hook and line. with small piece
Of red flannel as bait This is employed
4 more than all other methods combined. In
Ontario they have g practice which has been
used in France and Belgium for centuries;
they shoot their prey with cross bow or
arblast. The bolt stranshxes the little rep
tile and makes so little noise as not to fright
en- its friends and neighbors. Some sports
men use 9 rife or a Flobert air gun. The
latter is preferable, as the discharge makes
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