The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-05-04

Frederick A. Merrill, of Ware They have recently organized the Massachu- | setts Frog company under the laws of
 Maine. A farm of ten acres on the out | skirts of Ware was purchased from Daniel s. Kennedy and is now being equipped for the undertaking. The land is on the border of Hardwick Pond and was a part of the old King estate.
 The tract is admirably suited to its requirements A running stream passes
 through it, furnishing an adequate sup
 ply of water. The system of cultivation will be by means of a series of artificial ponds. These are now in process of construction. They will be of various
 sizes and will be connected by series of locks, They will be fitted with walls and bottoms of cement. The
 smallest of the series will be about ten
 feet by three feet in size. In these
 the eggs will be matched and, as the
 creatures develop, they will be trans
 ferred into larger ponds When they
 are year old they will occupy bodies
 of water about ten feet square, and
 during the second year will be trans
 ferred to ponds thirty feet square.
 When two years old the frog is full
 grown and will be ready for the mar
 ket.
 It is expected that an ample supply
 of eggs for stocking the hatchery will
 be found in the ponds of neighboring
 towns, and as the eggs germinate cas-
 fly, no trouble is anticipated in the
 ,t,,,oJ 6c
 on a substance found on the surface
 of the eggs, so that no food will have
 to be supplied during the early growth.
 When the creatures reach the tadpole stage a quantity of crustacea will be supplied. The lower forms of animal
 life will be procured, like the frogs eggs from neighboring ponds, and as
 they propagate rapidly, will soon fur nish an incessant supply of food in the artificial ponds. The cultivation is matter of small expense and trouble, and yet the returns yielded will be very large for the amount invested. Arrangements are being made for the growth of from 10000 to 40000 frogs per year, and the facilities can be ,n- creased so that an output of 100000 can be made if the demand warrants. After the ponds are stocked there would De only slight increase of labor required to effect the growth of the large num- Der.
 The principal market for the frogs will be found in colleges and medical schools. There is a growing demand for the creatures for use in the study of natural history, and especially for purposes of medical research At pres ent the supply is insufficient, and stu dents, especially in winter, find it diiIl- cult to procure any specimens The cultivation of the frog has hitherto been | only on a small scale and | chiefly as food. Schools have been | obliged to send to North and South Car clina for their specimens, and then l have not been able to procure the anil mals in the best condition. The farm at Ware will be equipped with heating so that the supply will be and students will be enabled | to obtain the objects of their experi- ments during the winter, when they are most desired for study. During the cold weather the frogs remain dormant in the mud Large cakes of this soil will be dug from the ponds and remov- ad to the heaters, where the frogs will De thawed out and sent to the schools n normal condition, so that the blood circulation and the heartbeat may be studied under the best circumstances possible.
 Hotels and markets will also be sup oiled. The building to be used as head quarters on the estate is now about half built and will be ready for occu- oancy in the spring. The plant will hen commence operations and it is ex- ,ected that the supply for hotels will ,e ready soon after the frost Is out of he ground. The company will not be eady to furnish specimens for schools lntil some time later.-Boston Tran cript.