EEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 247 



caught upwards of 500 lbs., and sold them for 160 dollars, 

 or at an average of 22 cents a pound. These stories 

 seemed to me incredible, and yet he assured me it 

 was truth. He can clear 28 cents a pound, he says, 

 easily. He seemed to be an honest man, and from 

 the ease with which they caught the frogs, I was led 

 to believe that he had not stretched the truth much, if 

 at all." 



The question whether any four-legged creature can 

 properly be described as a fish may not at first sight 

 seem very debateable, and yet it has occupied for some 

 time past the serious attention of certain transatlantic 

 authorities. The discussion arose out of a rather curious 

 trade which has been going on for years between Canada 

 and the cities of the Republic. Our American cousins 

 have, as it seems, quite got over those prejudices which 

 in this benighted island still militate against the admis- 

 sion of frogs to the cuisine, and they are now so fond of 

 the delicacy which was once considered the distinctive 

 food of Frenchmen, that the produce of tbeir own ponds 

 and ditches does not suffice for the demands of the 

 market. Accordingly, the Canadians, whose waters seem 

 to be specially prolific in these creatures, have been driving 

 a large and flourishing trade with the towns ^across the 

 border, and especially with New York, in supplying 

 them with the edible parts of the frog, which until lately 

 were transported free of Customs duty under the designa- 

 tion of " Canadian fish." Some official busybody at last 

 found fault with this easy-going definition, and claimed 

 duty on the imports ; and the Treasury on appeal decided 

 that frogs are not Canadian fish within the meaning 

 of the Washington Treaty, and therefore are not free of 

 Customs duty. The Canadians were, however, not dis- 

 couraged, and possibly may have thought that as the 

 mummy of a Pharaoh travelled under the name of salt 

 fish in Egypt, so a dead frog might fairly be allowed to 

 travel in America as fresh fish. As " fresh fish destined 

 for immediate consumption" they accordingly essayed 

 to pass their valuable commodities, but without success. 



