The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-07-30
FROG-LORE.

A writer in Modern Culture has
some interesting things to say about
frogs. He says: The frogs tongue
is attached to the bottom of the
mouth near it's front, and when he
springs open-mouthed at his prey,
the tongue flies out like a thin, bent
spring, and gathers up the bug, ant
or fly on it's fine, upcurving, viscid
point; then the mouth closes so
quickly that, though watching
closely, we have not distinctly seen
the nimble tongue turn back to it's
place. The frog never drinks he
absorbs water through his skin. Most
kinds of frogs have within their
bodies a sac, which stores up pure
water for a time of need. After a
frog has been in a dry atmosphere
a few hours he will, on being re-
placed in the water, double his
weight in an hour. Before q rain
storm the atmosphere becomes
humid, that is, laden with moisture ;
this is perceived by the frogs, which
then venture out of the water and
whistle and croak their pleasure.
The dampness of the air at nightfall
also occasions much qualification to
the frog community.
Frogs may be caught with a long
handled dip net. Some oatohers use
a sort of rake, while others catch
them in the hand. Boys sometimes
use the same tackle for frogs that
they use for fish, batting with a live
worm or winged insect a bit of red
rag is good for bait. Some use a
small rife or a fve-tined spear. The
hind legs of a. frog are the parts
generally eaten, though the whole
bodies of the smaller frogs, freed
from entrails and skin, are sometimes
fried with eggs and bread crumbs.
There are two general classes of
frogs known commonly as the tree
frogs and the water frogs. The
former are of two kinds, the green
and the brown. The marsh frog is
mostly pale brown on the back and
yellowish-white beneath, the lower
part of the thighs being a bright
orange yellow. 1t has a strong odor.
Neither the tree frog nor the marsh
frog is good for eating.
The American frogs marketed for
food are four in number-the leopard
frog, the green frog, the bullfrog
and the western bullfrog. The
leopard frog is the common frog of
North America. 1t is about three
and a half inches long. The upper
parts are green, brassy, or greenish-
gray, with black spots. The lower
parts are white, or pale yellow. The
green frog, sometimes called the
spring frog or tiger frog, is smaller.
It's upper parts r bright green,
shading off to olive. 1t has small,
round, brown spots, and sometimes
blotches on the sides. The under
parts Ire white, or greenish-white,
and the throat citron-yellow. The
bullfrog is the largest and best of all.
1t is from five to eight inches long,
although there have heen known
specimens twenty-one inches in total
length. 1t is green above, with dark
spots and darkening toward the ex-
tremities of the legs. Underneath
the color is yellowish, becoming
dusky toward the hind legs. The
western bullfrog is not so large. 1t
has IA depressed body, and slender
bnt welldeveloped legs. A fold of
skin runs from the eye to the hind
leg on each side. The upper parts
are greenisn-yellow with golden re-
Elections and black spots. The sides
of the abdomen and hind legs are
reddish or orange; the under ur-
faces r a dull acknowledgment and
spotted. The green frog needs to be
two years old before it is marketable,
while the buIlfrog should be three
years old.
Frogs in winter burrow under wet