The Louisiana populist., 1898-01-14
THE FROG INDUSTRY.
NEW YORK EATS MORE FROGS THAN
ANY PLACE ON EARTH.

ANY PLACE ON EARTH.
A Tank Filled With Thousand Big Bull
frogs."Used For Scientific Purposes..'
Where the Croakers Come From and
How They Are Caught
Frequenters of Fulton Market have
been much interested during the past
week at the sight of nearly one thou
sand big bullfrogs swimming content
edly in one of Commissioner Black
fords big tanks. chanced to be
among the spectators, and with others
conceived the popular belief that the
frogs had been brought to the market
to be killed and eaten.
Commissioner Blackford, however,
set this idea all awry when | said
frogs to him.
"The live frogs that you see out
there said the Commissioner, "are
brought to New York solely for sale
among the schools and colleges. The
frog is very popular subject in the
class room, and there are ever 50 many
ways in which he is used to demon,
strate the circulation of the blood. His
vitality is very great, and under a
skillful knife you can see the complete
working of his heart. Scientists use
him for experimenting also. Students
or messengers take the frogs away in
kettles or boxes and we charge THEM
So dozen.
"The frogs meant to be eaten are
shipped to New York already dressed.
That means that we receive the back
legs or the saddle packed in ice and
ready to sell to the consumer. If they
should ship the frogs alive the cost in
transportation would be enormous and
would make the price so high that only
wealthy people could afford to eat
them
care there many frogs legs eaten
in New York?'
There is not city in the world
said Commissioner Blackford, "that
consumes SO many frogs legs as New
York"
More than in Paris?'
Yes, indeed" replied the Commits
sioner. While, years ago, the French
were commonly known as frog eaters,
the New Workers to-day should more
properly be called frog eating people
rather than the Parisians. l seldom
found the dish on the menus in the
restaurants of Paris, while in New
York you can get them at nearly every
first-class hotel and restaurant. This
dish is not common in London, and
only a few of the high grade restau-
rants there prepare it,
According to Commissioner Black
ford's figures, fully seventy-fve PEI
cent of the frogs for the New York
market are shipped from the Ontario
district, in Canada. The remaining
twenty-five come from the Adj
rondacks and the State of Maine.
Frogs are very plentiful in all these
districts, and they multiply so rapid
ly that there is no danger of decrease
in the supply for years to come About
six of the saddles of these frogs weigh
a pound and retail at seventy-five
cents.
The largest frogs in the world come
from the State of Missouri, but they
are scarce and do not figure largely
in New York's market Three Of these
saddles will make a pound Great
quantities of frogs are to be found in
the New Jersey meadows, but they are
so small that pound Of dressed legs
cannot lie obtained from less than two
or three dozen frogs. Occasionally q
farmers boy will bring forty or fifty
Of these frogs to market. but the pay
is so small compared with the amount
of work required in the hunt that nc
cne makes regular business OF
searching the adjacent meadows.
The frog taking season begins about
June l and continues steadily till Sep
tember l. Throughout Canada there
are many men who make regular
business Of frog catching, while in tn
Adirondacks the work is done by the
guides during their spare hours. The
animals are caught with hook baitad
with red flannel and suspended from
rod about ten feet in length. There
is strange fascination about the red
flannel that the ordinary croaker caa-
not resist. The moment it is dangle,l
within few inches of his nose he
makes wild leap at it, with jaws
wide open, and is promptly hooked
He is released and placed in big
basket carried on the back of the
frog hunter.
Sometimes the frog is found to be
sleeping. Then the hook is placed un-
der him and quick jerk lands him
When the basket is filled the frogs are
carried to a pen in one corner of the
pond near the huts of the hunters,
and are kent there until there is a