﻿252 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OP 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  relatively 
  inferior 
  quality. 
  Only 
  tlie 
  hind 
  legs 
  are 
  commonly 
  utilized, 
  

   the 
  meat 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  being 
  edible, 
  but 
  in 
  very 
  small 
  

   quantity. 
  In 
  some 
  localities, 
  however, 
  the 
  entire 
  body, 
  after 
  the 
  removal 
  

   of 
  the 
  viscera, 
  is 
  fried 
  with 
  eggs 
  and 
  bread 
  crumbs. 
  The 
  legs 
  are 
  pre- 
  

   pared 
  for 
  the 
  table 
  by 
  broiling, 
  frying, 
  or 
  stewing. 
  

  

  A 
  prejudice 
  formerly 
  existed 
  against 
  frogs 
  as 
  an 
  article 
  of 
  food, 
  per- 
  

   haps 
  based 
  on 
  their 
  uncanny 
  appearance 
  and 
  heightened 
  through 
  their 
  

   appropriation 
  by 
  witches 
  and 
  empirics 
  for 
  spells 
  in 
  love 
  affairs 
  and 
  the 
  

   cure 
  of 
  various 
  diseases. 
  For 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  the 
  French 
  people 
  alone 
  

   availed 
  themselves 
  of 
  this 
  delicacy, 
  though 
  it 
  was 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  Romans. 
  

   From 
  France 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  this 
  food 
  passed 
  into 
  Germany, 
  England, 
  and 
  

   other 
  parts 
  of 
  Europe, 
  and 
  later 
  into 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  where 
  frogs 
  

   are 
  now 
  more 
  generally 
  consumed 
  than 
  in 
  any 
  other 
  country, 
  and 
  

   where, 
  during 
  the 
  j)roper 
  seasons, 
  they 
  may 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  markets 
  

   of 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  cities.* 
  

  

  FROG-HUNTING. 
  

  

  The 
  business 
  of 
  taking 
  frogs 
  for 
  market 
  has 
  greatly 
  increased 
  in 
  

   recent 
  years. 
  It 
  is 
  now 
  carried 
  on 
  in 
  all 
  sections 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  

   and 
  is 
  of 
  economic 
  importance 
  in 
  about 
  fifteen 
  States, 
  while 
  in 
  nearly 
  

   all 
  the 
  remaining 
  States 
  and 
  Territories 
  frogs 
  are 
  taken 
  for 
  local 
  or 
  

   home 
  consumption, 
  of 
  which 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  statistical 
  account. 
  

   The 
  States 
  supplying 
  the 
  largest 
  quantities 
  for 
  the 
  markets 
  are 
  Cali 
  

   fornia, 
  Missouri, 
  New 
  York, 
  Arkansas, 
  Maryland, 
  Virginia, 
  Ohio, 
  and 
  

   Indiana. 
  More 
  frogs 
  are 
  taken 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  than 
  in 
  any 
  other 
  State, 
  

   but 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  their 
  comparatively 
  small 
  size 
  their 
  value 
  is 
  less 
  than 
  

   in 
  Missouri 
  and 
  California. 
  The 
  Canadian 
  Province 
  of 
  Ontario 
  also 
  

   yields 
  a 
  comparatively 
  large 
  supply 
  of 
  market 
  frogs. 
  According 
  to 
  

   inquiries 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Fish 
  Commission, 
  the 
  annual 
  catch 
  in 
  

   the 
  United 
  States 
  is 
  but 
  little 
  less 
  than 
  1,000,000, 
  with 
  a 
  gross 
  value 
  to 
  

   the 
  hunters 
  of 
  about 
  $50,000. 
  The 
  yearly 
  cost 
  of 
  frogs 
  and 
  frog 
  legs 
  

   to 
  the 
  consumers 
  is 
  not 
  less 
  than 
  $150,000. 
  

  

  The 
  localities 
  in 
  which 
  especially 
  important 
  frog 
  hunting 
  is 
  done 
  are 
  

   the 
  marshes 
  of 
  the 
  western 
  end 
  of 
  Lake 
  Erie, 
  and 
  Lewis 
  and 
  Grand 
  

   reservoirs, 
  in 
  Ohio; 
  the 
  marshes 
  of 
  the 
  Sacramento 
  and 
  San 
  Joaquin 
  

   rivers, 
  California; 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Kankakee 
  River, 
  Indiana; 
  Oneida 
  

   Lake, 
  Seneca 
  River, 
  and 
  other 
  waters 
  of 
  northern 
  New 
  York, 
  and 
  the 
  

   St. 
  Francis 
  River 
  and 
  the 
  sunken 
  lands 
  of 
  the 
  Mississippi 
  River, 
  in 
  

   Arkansas 
  and 
  Missouri. 
  

  

  In 
  taking 
  frogs 
  for 
  market, 
  lines 
  baited 
  with 
  red 
  cloth, 
  worms, 
  or 
  

   insects 
  are 
  extensively 
  used; 
  guns, 
  small-bore 
  rifles, 
  and 
  spears 
  are 
  

   also 
  employed, 
  and 
  cross-bows 
  are 
  adopted 
  for 
  this 
  purpose 
  in 
  Canada. 
  

   They 
  are 
  often 
  hunted 
  at 
  night, 
  a 
  lantern 
  furnishing 
  light 
  for 
  the 
  

  

  * 
  While 
  it 
  is 
  popularly 
  supposed 
  that 
  the 
  consumption 
  of 
  frogs 
  in 
  France 
  is 
  much 
  

   larger 
  than 
  elsewhere, 
  this 
  is 
  uot 
  the 
  case, 
  and, 
  on 
  the 
  authority 
  of 
  the 
  Revue 
  des 
  

   Sciences 
  Naturelles 
  Appliqu^es 
  (1889), 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  stated 
  that 
  the 
  annual 
  consumption 
  

   of 
  frogs 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  is 
  ten 
  times 
  that 
  in 
  France. 
  

  

  