160 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



polliwogs. If you do not heed all these precautions, and more too, your young fry will all 

 disappear down the stomach of some bird or animal ; and if you are not an unusually close 

 observer, you will be in great wonder where they have gone. You will have no trouble in feeding 

 the young while they are polliwogs ; nature has provided for that in all waters. They feed upon 

 microscopic forms found in the sediment." * 



MODES OF CAPTURE. The capture of Frogs is effected in various ways. In Canada the fishery 

 is carried on largely by boys, who employ spears, in the use of which they are said to become quite 

 expert. In some localities scoop nets are used. Mr. Paul Pieombo, of Oakland, California, informs 

 me that he seldom has need of any apparatus, as he finds no difficulty in securing the Frogs 

 by grasping them with his hands. 



In regard to the capture of Frogs in Europe, where the species Rana esculenta is most 

 generally eaten, Mr. Buckland furnishes us with the following information : 



" The old fishwife of whom I bought the frogs informed me that she had a man regularly in 

 her employ to catch them. He went out every evening at dusk to the ponds in the neighborhood 

 of Paris, with a lantern and a long stick, to end of which was attached a piece of red cloth. The 

 frogs were attracted by the light to the place where the fisherman stood. He then lightly dropped 

 his cloth on the surface of the water; the frogs, imagining that some dainty morsel was placed 

 before them, eagerly snapped at it, and, their teeth becoming entangled, they Became an easy prey, 

 destined for to-morrow's market and the tender mercies of the fish or rather frog woman." 2 



ECONOMIC USES. Desmarest, in his article on Frogs in the " Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle," 

 makes the following remarks regarding the uses to which these animals may be put : 



"The flesh of Frogs is white and delicate, and contains a great deal of gelatine. It is eaten 

 almost everywhere in Europe, but particularly in France. Frogs taken in autumn are in the best 

 condition for food, but they are also taken in the summer. In spring the flesh is not at all delicate. 

 In England all parts of the Frog are eaten except the skin and the viscera, but with us only the 

 hind legs are employed. 



"Frog soup is used in medicines in cases of phthisis, hypochondria, and all those chronic affec- 

 tions which are accompanied by permanent irritation. This remedy, which has been prescribed by 

 a celebrated Doctor Pomme, is not in use at the present time. In ancient days many preparations 

 were made from Frogs, such as oil and salve, and from the spawn, water and oil, etc. Dioscorides 

 recommended Frogs cooked with salt and oil as a remedy for the bite of the venomous serpents, 

 and would have the patient swallow a heart every morning as a pill for incurable diseases. In the 

 country the lack of ice is sometimes supplied by the application of a frog to the forehead in cases 

 of cerebral congestion." 3 



The late Mr. Buckland, in his entertaining work on " Curiosities in Natural History," already 

 quoted, also alludes to the gastronomic value of the Frog, in his usual inimitable style, as follows: 



" Frogs are not often used in Germany, but in France they are considered a luxury, as any ban 

 rimnt, ordering a dish of them at the 'Trois Freres' at Paris, may, by the long price, speedily 

 ascertain. Not wishing to try such an expensive experiment in gastronomy, I went to the large 

 market in the Faubourg Saint-Germain and inquired for Frogs. 1 was referred to a stately looking 

 dame at a fish stall, who produced a box nearly full of them, huddling and crawling about, and 

 occasionally croaking, as though aware of the fate for which they were destined. The price fixed 

 was two a penny, and, having ordered a disli to be prepared, the Dame de la Halle dived her hand in 



'Report, United Sfatex Fish Commissioner, part ii, 1H74, pp. 587, >-. 

 'BUCKLAND, FRANCIS T. : Curiosities of Natural History, 1840, p. '''.'. 

 3 Dictiounaire UnivcrM-1 il'Mistnm- XntnrHli', vi, 1H4.">, p. 328. 



