The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-06-21

fTOm the CnicaBO 1nter-Ocean.
 Leaving out of consideration Oshkosh, Wis, Chicago has come to be about the best frog town on the map More than 2,OOO dozen of the green and speckled Jumpers are sold along State street every week to persons who hie themselves to Wisconsin waters in search of fish yarns. Most of the croakers come from Osh- kosh, where the tadpole industry is marked up as one of the leading commer- cial enterprises.
 Scores of Chicago men buy frogs reg ularly every Saturday afternoon, and go Junketing up into Wisconsin to troll for bass. Inasmuch as the young frogs have won reputation as first class bait, every fisherman, amateur or professional, has thrown away his minnow bucket and his can of pork rind. and has bought frog basket.
 Most of the big stores in Chicago now have a frog department. The jumpers are kept in wire cage where the buyer may have view of their livelness and croaking ability before investing. If he believes they will decoy the bass from the rocks he pays twenty-five cents for a dozen batrachians-twenty- cents a dozen Is all they cost, for Oshkosh has an unlimited supply.
 The trade in frogs last year did not exceed LOGO dozen per week during the heighth of the angling season. This year the stores have doubled the sizes of the frog cages, and have no trouble in sell ing twice the number sold last year.
 Oshkosh Frogs Are Best.
 Many fishermen have standing orders ,A r-N1 x..I ..k. .f-s.. Saturday there are awaiting them bags of the brown jumpers. Some of the best known Ike Waltons in the city carry these bags through the streets much like a small boy would carry bag of peanuts.
 A few days ago two men met on the State street sidewalk. Each of them was carrying a small cheese cloth bag in one hand.
 Hello, goin north?' one man saluted
 Yep. got my bait already" answered the other.
 Say, don't you think those Oshkosh frogs are better than the ones from the Pink Mink marsh down In Indiana? Wis consin bass won't bite on those Pink Mink frogs. It's in the coloring, I think. The Pink Mink frogs have sort of fun ny look about them. I'm buying the Osh- kosh brand altogether"
 Tisn't that" said the other man as he rammed his hand Into the cheese cloth bag and brought out a green jumper by one leg. There are two reasons why the Indiana frog Is no good for Wisconsin fishing. First place, do you see this Osh- kosh frog? Look at him kick. An Indi- ana frog never kicks. 1t isn't In him. Then the flavor of live frogs is different. The Wisconsin frogs come from clear water and have only the taste of pure frog meat while the Indiana frogs, which are scooped up in the mud, have sort of a catfish or sucker taste to them"
 And that is what almost any dealer in frogs will tell you The Wisconsin frogs are considered the best for bait They live longer 'in captivity" than the Hoos- Ter batrachians, are better liked by the bass, and are sure to make a mans repu- tation as a fisherman much quicker than the Pink Mink frog.
 Business Pays We'll.
 The men who furnish frogs to the market find it a paying business. In the lakes up in Wisconsin there are hundreds of millions of the Jumpers, and man with a small dip net can catch hundreds of them In day. He gets about ten cents dozen for them in the Chicago market, and although the Journey to the city ends disastrously to about one fourth of the batrachians, the frog catcher yet finds plenty of profit in them. The ma JOTlty ol lIOB are DOyS, WnO wade out into the shallow water, whip ping the water with their nets. They drive the frogs ahead of them until there is quite number together. Then they dip the net into the water and it Is sell dom they do not catch as many as ten at a dip.
 While attention centers at this time of year in the small bait frog. the hunt for these diminutive croakers does not form m a m ri of htnci 1t Is for the aged old bullfrog whose deep-throated sound carries mile across the water that the frog catcher Is willing to risk whatever he has. These do not go to the end of a fishing line, but find their way to the table.
 Prejudice Against Frogs.
 In the early years of the industry an unreasoning prejudice on the part of the people against the use of frogs as food had to be overcome. but this has been successfully accomplished in some parts of the country, especially where the for eign element is strong. The meat of the frog is white, delicate, wholesome and palatable. In flavor it much resem- bles the leg of spring chicken. AL though eaten at all times, 1t is in best condition in fall and winter: in spring it is of relatively inferior quality. Only the hind legs are commonly utilized, the meat on the other part of the body beiAg ed1- ble, but in small quantity. In some To- calities, however. the entire body, after the removal of the viscera, Is fried with eggs and bread crumbs. In Missouri a pair of hind legs weigh about half a pound. The annual catch of the United States Is estimated at 100000, with a gross value to the hunters of about $50,- GOO, while the cost to the consumer is not less than s150,000.
 While the net is used mostly up osh-