The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-09-19
RAISING FROGS F0n pi;OFlr.



Not many of the people Who ~
down 20 nice order OF frog legs
know where they come from. hoS
they are raised, caught and mar
ketcd. or. I'm fact know anything
about them, yet frog legs are con
sidered one Of the most dainty OF
dishes. Not many know that Penn
sylvania raised frog is one of the best
on the market
People who have made the study
of animals, especially water animals,
life work, know that the frog pos
sesses almost as many peculiar char
acteristics as a human being.
The bull frog, the oatable species,
comes from the lakes and low lands
of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Bouisi
ana and along the marshes OF the
Great Lakes. IL Is said that there Ia
more trouble and less money about g
frog farm than there is about any
other business. Still many people
living in the low lands and swamps
of the States mentioned depend en-
tirely upon this novel but interesting
Work TOT nVellnOOd.
The better class of frog farmer
has from two to six ponds whero
he breeds and raises his frogs. In
this way he can keep the frogs Of
different ages in different ponds.
Frog eggs are about the size Of
pin heads, and are laid in n Shiny,
jelly-like substance that partially
protects them. From 400 to 500
eggs are the spawn of u single fe-
male. The eggs hatch the tadpole or
pollywog. This In turn becomes q
baby frog. Between the time of
year elapses, and 1t takes the frog
about two and a half or three years
to grow large enough for market.
They are better around the age of
five years than at any other time;
after that they become tough. It Is
very hard matter to separate the
frogs at different ages for they must
have mud in the bottom of their
pools or they will not hatch, so 10
floor can be placed there, and they
easily dig under any wall that can
be built.
After he is big enough for market
the frog is caught with a bulls eye
lantern. This is flashed in his eyes
at night, binding him long enough
to be captured. In the daytime the
animal is shy and will not allow
person to approach, but when he is
once scared from a place 1t is safe
to say he will return there as soon
as the person has gone. When
caught and worried or teased he will
cry almost like a baby.
In hard season, when small FISH
and insects are scarce, the frog eats
his own families, 1t being case OF
the biggest frog getting the most to
eat. 1t is no uncommon thing to
catch a bullfrog that has another In
his stomach half it's own size that It
has devoured In a hungry moment.
They can stay under water from 20
to 80 minutes, when they come to
the surface for air. Their worst
enemy is the large fish. In ponds
where fish are also raised the fish
live almost entirely on the frogs.
Another popularity of the frog is
that 1t will seldom touch a dead
carcass. The beetle or other insect
must move before the frog will
touch It,
There is one other species of the
eatable frog that is known as the
spring frog. 1t grows In the spring
on farms and ranches and Is consid-
cred to be more palatable than the
bull frog, but is smaller. Farmers
who have these frogs in their springs
refuse to allow them to be killed,
claiming that they purify the water.
THIS makes them harder to get and
they are more expensive than the
other variety.
The tree, or marsh frog, Is noted
as being one of the best weather
prophets that lives. He always cries
before q rain. He is about three
inches in length. but is not fit for
for food. Some are sold as weather
prophets, but the demand does not
pay one to raise them.
The last of the common species is
the horned frog. 1t lives in the
Southwest on the dry, arid regions Of
Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, and
lives on desert mice and insects.
They have never been known to
drink water and. like the toad. is
good for nothing.