COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 483 
where the canal passes under the street, so that the frogs will be 
unable to get out and their enemies can not enter. At one side of 
the pond, where the water is shallow, a large section has been fenced 
off from the rest by a fine-meshed wire screen and divided into two 
compartments, in which are placed the eggs and the young tadpoles. 
In the larger section the young and full-grown frogs are allowed to 
roam at will. The pond contains many water hyacinths and pond 
lilies, which are quite necessary to the comfort and safety of the 
batrachians, screening them from the sun and from their chief enemies, 
the birds. The frogs are generally secured from the rivers and ponds 
near by, where they are caught by small boys armed with hook and 
line or scoop net. A uniform price of $1 per dozen is paid for these 
without regard to size. No attempt is made to feed them, and as they 
grow rapidly it is evident that natural food is quite abundant in the 
inclosure. 
Only the medium-sized frogs are now shipped to market, the large 
ones being retained for breeding purposes. Shortly before shipment 
the frogs are removed from the pond to the wholesale market at 
Waiakea, near by, where they are placed in a tank built specially for 
the purpose. This tank, which is raised on supports, is about 15 feet 
long, about 5 feet wide, and about 4 feet deep, with the top slanting 
inward slightly in order to prevent the frogs fromclimbing up. The 
tank is divided by wire screens into four compartments, two of which are 
surrounded by a screen superimposed on the top of the tank, and 
reaching up about 6 feet, and the more active frogs are put into these 
compartments. Fresh water is supplied daily by means of a small 
electric pump. Although not introduced until 1899, the frogs have 
already attained a large size. Of three of the largest ones in the ship- 
ping tank on one occasion, two weighed 2 pounds each and the other 
14 pounds. Thirty-six of all sizes, gathered from the tank and weighed 
together, averaged 5 ounces each. 
Most of the frogs at present are shipped to the San Francisco markets 
via the regular line plying between Hilo and that port. They are sent 
in long, water-tight boxes with several inches of water at the bottom, 
this being changed every day during the eight to ten days required for 
the journey. The percentage of loss in transit is very small. A few 
frogs are also shipped via the interisland steamers to Honolulu and 
other towns, and all indications predict a rapid extension of the industry, 
as the animals are being introduced on the other islands, and efforts are 
being made to propagate them. 
In 1900 Hawaiians predominated in the fisheries of this island, num- 
bering 405 persons. At that time there were but 134 Japanese 
engaged in fishing. In 1903 this condition of affairs was reversed, 
and there were then 406 Japanese to 391 Hawaiians, an increase of 
