Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-04


realize that frog legs command fancv
prices. and that the American peopl.
are now the greatest frog eaters in
me world? ALSO that frogs Will ana
90 i've in almost any pond marsh
creek or puddle?
Now. why not construct a puddlo
of. say. nifty acres. stock 4, win -
quarter million frogs. and take Tho
icss TO market in an irht-cylindcr
car?
if YOU ever had ,his large idea, yon
probably thought IT. was Il sinrularly
hriIiiant and original one. But 1T
wasn't. The records OF the Bureau of
Fisheries show that somebody has IL
literally every day. For II is seldom
a day passes mat ;hc experts OF that
busE government organization do not
receive at least one letter asking
whether frogs may be raised in can
tivity. and II SO how, and II not, why
not.
The Burcnu Of Fisheries is now com
PEELED to Keep on hand large sup
ply Of mimcographcd letters telling all
that the government scientists know
about the raising OF frogs in captivity
and this form is sent TO all inuulrc:s
u does not give great deal Of en-
couraEcment, so far as the practical
bility 81 froE farming is concerned. II
says that about all you can do is TO
buy or make a suitable puddle gather
lot Of frog cggs--not too MANY
and leave the rest to Providence and
pollwoEs.
The demand for information about
frogs Is growing 50 fast that OF
the government experts declared II TO
he IA run on frogs And what the
American public wants. il always gets.
This brings us TO the really important
fact OF our story, which is that the
bureau OF Fisheries has employed DR..
y. III. Wright. OF Cornell University,
L.
other man in the United States. 20
mako an additional study of them
with special reference to the practi-
cabiliiy of frog farming. DR. Wright
will remain At Cornell and study the
frogs In the ponds there. and the re-
suits of his Investigation Will be used
by the government scientists as Il basis
for experiments in frog farming. Dr.
Wright will get al the facts about the
private life and prcdilections of the
frog. and the fishery men will try TO
give these practical application.
Easy as II seems TO raise frogs. the
undertaking is really one Of the most
difficult imaginable. OF course. the
only object in demonstrating any wild
thing used for food is to produce 1t
in greater numbers relative 10 the area
used. Unless you can raise more
frogs TO the acre than that acre would
support naturally, YOU might as well
confine yourself Ia hunting wild frogs
in the first place.
Must Provide Live Food.
Now tho frog is predatory animal.
1t will touch nothing that is dead. Its
food consists OF insects. fishes. molusks
and other small creatures that dwell in
shallow water or hover about IL.
Therefore. before YOU can increase the
pcr-acrc production Of frogs, you must
find SONG way of producing their
natural food in quantities. Various
methods have been tried. such rs set
ting brilliant electric lights about the
ponds TO attract insecsT, but none of
them have been successful. If YOU can
devise some way Of catching insects
alive in wholesale quantities. your for
tune is made.
Not only is the feeding problem diff
cult. but when it is not rightly pro-
Nidcd for. the frogs take the matter
into their own mouths and gaily de-
to raise frogs for twenty-five years
without ever putting the proposition
on Il paying basis. summarized his
pcrience in these words: THE big frogs
ate the little frogs. the little frogs ate
the polliwogs. the big nolliwogs ate tho
little polliwogs. and the birds ate them
all"
At least one determined and scientific
attempt has been made to solve the
og-farming problem. The State Of
Pennsylvania went into the business
on Il large scale n few years ago, and
the experiment was watched with in
tcrcst hy scientists in all parts OF the
world. Although frogs were raised in
considerable numbers. and spawn dis
tribu.ed all over the state. the business
was not put on il practical basis either
AT the State hatcherics, or by any of
those who were encouraged by the
state authorities to go into II. The
man who had charge of the experiments
said that they left him hopeful of sue
cessfully working out the problem at
some future time.
PoIIiwOSs VIII Die
But chiefly. the experiments demon-
stratcd that frog raising is bcsct by ~
wilderness of difficulties. IL is easy to
gather the eggs and put them in tho
ponds. Then the polliwogs hatch. Now
il there is the slightest bit Of crowd
ing among the poiliwoEs, some OF them
will die. This Will generate gases,
which will kill the other polliwogs.
All OF them Will swell up and burst,
their skins will sink to the bottom and
he buried In The mud so IL may hap
pen that pond containing 10000 polli-
wogs i'm the morning will not contain
one that night.
Furthermore the, polliwog has a num-