The Opelousas courier., 1904-05-14

T3anch order book, but 1t is neverthe-
Eess afact.sThis prosperous frog ranch
sjI owned and conducted by L. c.
FibmbsIWho for many years has cult
rated tsosanfAals +G9the table. Many
lhttempt.a Especially in The West, have
been maAt9&o breed and perfect the
co(nmon mp bet in most instances
they haveaihAAAld ID. The little creatures
arsfstubboM eNto a degree, they de-
maHdlibertysM plenty of room. They
also Aquire& " REtain kind Of mud
contaiagpg a N Sghr mineral deposit
in whickato hi~EtssssyAte. The food, too,
is an important ~ delicacies which
they can procure .seIemselyes when
in a wild state m,r. S4be forthcoming
or they will diAA Wit SSthese obstacles
in the path Of sfsseess, eAe average ex-
perimenter in IA raising oon be-
comes discourag$ aand tSAans his at
tention to sometlHiA else non which
he can count with ssGeater c2stainty.
How this pioneer Msog,raiseA in the
West came to choose IDS peculiar call
ing is interesting. taEays when a
boy he, like many boy3 IF the present
day, delighted to visit H.Aold pond in
in the meadow and toe, r;aop his felt
hat full of wriggly, s~GSSNafSRing little
tadpoles. To watch their tsGious an
ties in swimming and the Seek fat
little bodies darting through tLAwater
was a never-tiring pastime. Later a
pet frog was a special delight but
when maturity came with it's re- BON
| sibilities his interest in the animals
hapsed for a time. Later, however, he
Md fascination returned. Once MOI e
/ half-dozen or so pet frogs summed
themselves in his back yard and
hoped among the flowers, catching
stray bugs and flies. Finally, it was
rumored that "a Teller out in Baden
was raising frogs" The ~neighbors
whispered, and the curiosity Of the
countryside was aroused. AT that
time people who ate frogs were con-
sidered in this country little short of
barbarians. They were eyed askance
in most places, as many of us would
look upon an eater of grass-hOppers or
snakes.
AS time went on, a caterer in one OF
the French hotels heard Of the ranch,
and one day, wanting a dozen or SO
frogs in a hurry, sent there for them.
The owner of the frogger& scurried
the fields and streams to fill that order,
and then it came to him that he might
raise them for market. Soon the
neiehbors We're surprised to see a high
board fence going up around an acre
or so belonging to "the Teller who
raised frogs" A screen Of stout wire
was stretched over the entire top; q
crew of workmen were busy with ce-
ment. q wholesale froggery was in pre-
paration. The first animals We're Wlld
rain frogs. many of which, unaccus
toned to the food provided and the
confinement, died. Mr.. Combs gave
up his downtown business, and de
voted his time to scientific expert
ments, making . systematic study OF
the creatures. He made experiments
with different soils and various meth
DDS of raising or lowering the water
temperatures A food. which is the
frog medicinen had to be discovered,
| and then. too, something had to be
done to protect the frog eggs and the
tadpoles from their many enemies
Also the question of how to improve
upon the flavor and quality OF the
flesh came in for a share Of study
Books upon the subject of frog raising
were sent for even to London, but nc
one had yer thought to make this
humble creature the subject of a book
so, of course, no such work could be
found. A year or more passed before
much profit could be realized, theI
little by little the froggery began Il
thrive. Mr.. Combs study was re
warded by having no more dead frogs
almost every egg turned into a tad
pole, and thence into a table delicacy
That was years ago; each year since
that time has seen some improvement
and some new discovery; now, now
V the industry, having ceased tt
be an experiment, is running on
smooth basis with little or ne trouble
to the owner. who once more has time
to devote part of his attention to othe
enterprises.
It is surprising to note the curiosit.
shown by San Franciscans, in tn
enterprise, which is increased by tn
extreme eccentricity of the frot
raiser. Never to any ones knowledg'
during all the many years of it's ex
istence has any stranger passed tn
bulldog at the gate of the froggery
The place is hedged in by barriers OIL
all sides, high fences. with screens
bolts, locks and many quaint devices t.
frighten away all curious would-be dis
coverers ofsits secret.
For the accommodation Of the frogs
Nj. Combs has three ponds about fort,
feet in length, twenty feet in width
and from three to five feet in depth
There is also an acre Of sandy soil.
portion of made marsh, and a tangle'
growth of mixed wild shrubbery pro
vided for them. In this way they hav
many of the conditions they would en-
joy in a wild state, yet they have ais
the advantage of ready food. On sun
ny days the banks of the ponds ar
filled with hundreds of the shiny crea
lures. At night the mingled chorus. o
frog concert" as the neighbors call il
can be heard blocks away. The froe
like almost every living creature, grow
to recognize a familiar voice. and t