156 Fish and Game Warden. [Bull. No. 1. 



length. It would seem from the above observations that when 

 a large hungry bullfrog and a large hungry snake meet each 

 other, they gaze and stare and stare and gaze at each other; 

 and when they have finished gazing and staring and staring 

 and gazing, and have finally sized each other up, one or the 

 other (the one with the best nerve and with the largest mouth 

 and digestive capacity) proceeds to swallow the other. Thus 

 do animals in nature, guided by the laws of "natural selection"' 

 and the "survival of the fittest," love one another and get along 

 with each other in peace and harmony. 



Advisability of Placing in Ponds. 



As there has been some discussion and some criticism con- 

 cerning the advisability of placing bullfrogs in ponds and con- 

 cerning their food habits, we hope the above notes and obser- 

 vations will be of some value to all persons who own ponds and 

 desire to keep bullfrogs in them. We are the natural friend of 

 the bullfrog, and do not desire to pass an unjust criticism on 

 him or do him any injustice by giving unfavorable reports on 

 his habits and life history. 



Food for Man and for Fish. 



The flesh of the bullfrog is considered by many as the most 

 delicate and palatable that can be found in the animal king- 

 dom. The bullfrog produces a very considerable number of 

 eggs, which are usually spawned in May and June. These eggs 

 develop into tadpoles, and at from one to two years of age 

 these tadpoles develop into frogs. 



We have been opening up fish and examining the contents of 

 their stomachs since we were a small boy, and thus far we have 

 never found a tadpole in the stomach of any fish. However, 

 most of the game fishes are fond of frogs, especially the young 

 Green bullfrogs. The Black bass and the catfish will swallow 

 almost any frog they can catch, and we doubt whether a bull- 

 frog ever grows so big that a large bass, when hungry, would 

 not tackle and swallow him. At the Hatchery we have fre- 

 quently placed several thousand tadpoles in ponds that have 

 been stocked with Black bass for spawning purposes. In early 

 summer tadpoles begin to change into frogs. This transfor- 

 mation continues all summer, and thus a constant supply of 

 young frogs are furnished for the bass. 



When one year old these frogs are large enough for table 

 use, and at two years old are about half grown. When three 

 years old they are about grown, and at four years old are big 

 and full-sized specimens. However, the growth depends 

 largely upon the food supply. We have had two-year-old 

 specimens that were nearly full grown. 



We think it is possible to fence a pond with wire screening, 

 so that the bullfrogs can not get out of it. Ordinarily the fence 

 should not be less than four feet high. We have not tried to 



