1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
213 
The "Prairie Apple "—{Pomme Blanche.) 
The species of our native plants are very 
numerous, but among these there are but few 
which furnish articles of food. Berries and 
perishable fruits are more or less 
abundant iu their season, but those 
native products which can be stored 
up are limited in number, and as 
articles of food are at best indifferent. 
Neither in the variety nor iu the qual- 
ity of his food does the savage equal 
the poorest among the civilized. Acorns 
and grass seeds are poor substitutes 
for corn and wheat; and among the 
several more or less edible roots used 
by the Indians there is none which ap- 
proaches the potato iu excellence and 
nutritious quality. A large share of the 
vegetable food of some of the Western 
tribes of Indians is the Prairie Apple, or 
Pomme Blanche, as it was named by 
the French wyageurs. It is the root of 
a Psoralen (P. eseulenta), which is found 
from Wisconsin westward to the Rocky 
Mountains. The plant grows about a 
foot high, has leaves with five divisions, 
and its flowers are clustered in a dense 
head, much resembling a large clover ; 
the flowers are purplish-blue. The root 
is turnip-shaped and somewhat farina- 
ceous ; and though it would be consider- 
ed scarcely edible by us, is gathered iu 
large quantities by the Indians and 
stored for the winter. Mr. Cary, who 
lias given us many illustrations from 
the far West, lias sketched a party of 
squaws — it being- one of the Indian 
" women's rights " — engaged in collecting their 
supplies of this much valued Pomme Blanche. 
Our Native Erogs. 
There is a strong resemblance between the 
Frogs proper, the Tree-toads, the Cricket-toads, 
and the true Toads. They are all remarkable 
in having their youug strikingly unlike the 
adult animals. The 
young are hatched 
in a very incomplete 
state,aud go through 
their developments 
in the water. At 
first they breathe by 
external gills, and 
have uo organs of 
locomotion, except 
a tail. As the ani- 
mal grows, limbs 
appear, the tail dis- 
appears, and the 
office at first per- 
formed by the gills 
is afterward assum- 
ed by the longs. 
Some, such as the 
toad, when fully de- 
Teloped, leave the 
water, and only re- 
turn to it at the 
breeding season ; 
while the frogs are 
more or less aquatic 
While iu the young 
state these animals all feed upon vegetable 
food ; but after they have reached their per- 
fect development they are carnivorous. The 
frogs proper have a visible tympanum, or 
ear-drum; the upper jaw and palate are fur- 
nished with teeth, and in the male the throat has 
what are called " vocal vesicles," membranous 
appendages co mm unicating internally with the 
mouth. These are capable of being enormously 
distended, and by the aid of them, the well- 
SQUAWS COLLECTING THE PRAIRIE APPLE. 
known piping and croaking are produced. The 
best known, as well as the largest of our species, 
is the Bull-frog, (Rana Catesbiana.) This some- 
times reaches over 20 inches in length; and its 
deep bellowing may be heard for a long dis- 
tance. The color of the upper portions varies 
from green to dirty olive, upon which are ir- 
regular black blotches ; the body is yellowish- 
white below. The Bull-frog lives more eeneral- 
CRICKET-FUOG. 
PICKEREL-FROG. 
BULL-FROG. 
ly in the water than our other species. It bites 
readily at a bait, if held near to its mouth, and 
even may be caught by a hook baited with a 
bit of cloth. This frog has the reputation of 
beiug destructive to youug ducklings, seizing 
them from beneath the water. The hinder legs 
of the Bull-frog afford a highly esteemed article 
of food, occupying the place in the estima- 
tion of oai gastronomers that the Edible-frog 
{Piana eseulenta) does with those of Con- 
tinental Europe. In the times when 
the English were strongly prejudiced 
against everything French, the French 
were looked upon as a nation of frog- 
eaters. The fact is that frogs are not, 
as is popularly supposed, a common 
article of food with the French, hut are 
only used as a luxury. It may be that 
if the Edible-frog were found in Eng- 
land, the prejudice against frogs and 
those who ate them would not have 
been so strong. In this country much 
of this prejudice exists, and many who 
live where frogs are abundant deprive 
themselves of a most delicate article of 
food. A few years ago we met among 
the lakes of the New York wilderness, 
a person who annually caught barrels 
of frogs for the New York market, and 
who had never been induced to taste 
one. The hind-legs are the only por- 
tions used ; these are skinned and fried 
in crumbs or made into a fricassee, in 
the same way as are spring chickens, 
which in delicacy and flavor they much 
resemble. The Green, or Bawling-frog, 
(Rana ckmUans), is about 3"| a inches 
long ; it is green above and yellowish 
below. The Leopard-frog, (R. aaleciiia), 
in some localities called the Shad-frog, 
is bright green above, with spots of 
dark brown, margined with yellow, and 
a yellow line extending from the eyes 
along the sides of the body. It displays great 
activity in leaping. The Pickerel-frog, (R. pa- 
lustris), so called because it is often used as a 
bait for pickerel, is 2 3 | 4 inches long. It is yel- 
lowish-white below, and above it is marked with 
two longitudinal rows of square spots, which 
are dark brown upon a ground of pale brown. 
This species is shown in the engraving. The 
Wood-frog, (R. sykaiica), only visits the water 
at breeding time. It 
is found in thick 
woods, and leaps 
with great activity 
when disturbed. It 
is about 2 inches 
long, pale reddish- 
brown above, yel- 
lowish - white be- 
neath, with a dark 
brown stripe upon 
each side of the 
head. The small- 
est specimen shown 
in the engraving, 
though it usually 
passes for a frog, 
is properly a Crick- 
et-frog, and belongs 
to the genus Hi/lodcs 
(II. Pietorinffii.) It 
is found in woods 
and upon plants 
near the water. Its 
shrill note is familiar 
to all who live in the 
country. A related 
species is called the Savannah Cricket, which 
is often tamed and sings in confinement. It is 
said to soon learn to know its owner, and to 
accept flies from his hand. The related Tree- 
frogs, or Tree-toads, belong to the genus Hyla. 
