REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 243 



than this ? Not only do the Americans eat the frog, but 

 they pay a high price for the privilege. These are our 

 cousins who are thus distinguishing themselves by their 

 adventurous spirit. They were allied to France in the 

 time of Lafayette — before we were — and they are the 

 first to eat the frog. 



The physicians of Europe early made use of the 

 nutritious properties of the flesh of the frog in their 

 practice, prescribing it generally in the shape of broth 

 for various affections of the chest, and particularly con- 

 sumption. This practice is still in vogue throughout the 

 sparsely-settled districts of North Ainerica, and in the 

 Western States it is a common occurrence for those who 

 are affected with diseases of the chest to live on a frog 

 diet. Frogs cooked in oil and salt were considered by 

 the ancients an excellent antidote to the poison of ser- 

 pents, and when boiled in vinegar were used as a remedy 

 for the toothache. 



Of the dozen or more varieties common to the United 

 States and Europe, only a few are considered edible 

 and used as food by man. The celebrated edible, 

 or green frog of Europe, which naturalists call Rana 

 escuknta, is the greatest favourite and the most sought 

 after in the European countries. In the United States 

 the species called bull-frogs or shad-frogs, are about 

 the only kinds that are used for culinary purposes. 

 The European edible frog is of a bright green colour 

 above, with round circumscribed black spots, a light 

 coloured line along the back, and of a yellowish colour 

 underneath. The American bull-frog is familiar to almost 

 every one who has been in the tropics, and somewhat 

 resembles the common European frog. 



As a general rule, only the hindquarters of the frog 

 are eaten, but in Germany every part, with the exception 

 of the intestines and skin, is made use of as food. Many 

 persons will not eat frogs, believing that they are un- 

 clean, yet they have no hesitation in partaking of crabs 

 or lobsters that feed upon the refuse animal matter which 

 they find in the water. The flesh of the frog is very white 



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