436 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAI. [1 May, 1900 
FROGS AS FOOD. 
As an article of diet, frogs do not commend themselves to Englishmen generally: 
Australians, in particular, are averse to eating many animals which are comme? 
articles of food in Europe and America, and of which many are esteemed great 
delicacies. We will enumerate a few of these, to show that in many cases He 
only objection to their employment in the kitchen is—prejudice. : 
Hares are numerous in Queensland; but how many bushmen would care 
to dine off roast hare or stewed rabbit? Yet these are regularly served UP 
under yarious forms in British homes. Hels come under the same ban; Y@ 
stewed eels, eel pies, and pickled eels find favour in all European countries, % 
the same way as the terrapin is favoured as a delicacy in the United States © 
America. Tguana is never eaten by Australians; yet we have partaken wit 
much pleasure of iguana stewed and curried. In the Southern States ° 
America and in South America the iguana is a regular article of diet. Certamly 
our Australian reptile is notan iguana at all—merely a gigantic lizard ; but 1% 
flesh is white, delicate, and tender. It may be objected that this reptile 18* 
dirty feeder; but so are pigs, ducks, and fowls; yet no one would object 
roast pork, duck, or boiled fowl. Monkeys are commonly eaten in tropic 
countries, notwithstanding their hideous resemblance to what one w0 
suppose a roast baby would look like. ‘Take the land crabs % 
the West Indies. These crustaceans feed on any garbage they can find, am 
are most particularly fond of dead bodies; yet they are esteemed a delicacy 
there. Fish, such as jew fish, bream, flathead, and, generally, all river fishy 
except mullet, are filthy feeders, as every fisherman knows; so are crabs; DU 
who objects to eating these animals? Many an old bushman has enjoye * 
meal of the large white grubs which are found in the rotted sap of dead timbet 
Edible bird’s nests, béche-de-mer, oysters (he was a bold man who first ate 4” 
oyster), periwinkles, cockles, and a host of shell fish are all eaten by Britisi- 
speaking people; and, judging by the quantities of prawns sold in Brisban 
these—the greatest scavengers of the rivers, the devourers of all the foul bodies 
of dead animals they find floating in the water—find great favour with all classe® 
of the community. Frogs (ftana esculenta) are a delicacy which 1s quite 
unknown to the Australian palate (this particular batrachian never haying been 
introduced here) ; yet millions of frogs are eaten in some parts of the Old a2 
New Worlds. Our first experience of frogs was at St. Germain-en-Laye, ne” 
Paris. Dining at a restaurant there one day, a dish of appetising-looking patties 
or rather fritters, made its appearance. The ladies of the party, who were 
English tourists, tasted them and found them so delicious that the pe 8000 
demolished the dishful. On the waiter’s reappearance he was asked what “bu 
the patties contained. He smiled and replied that the birds were frogs—hine- 
legs of frogs. They were nicely cooked, and proved very delicate food. Snails, 
again, form an article of diet in large consumption on the Continent. They # 
a large variety, and are prepared for cooking whilst alive, being purged @™ 
cleaned, after which they are boiled, extracted from the shell, and chopped 
finely with herbs and condiments; the shell is polished clean, and the prep 
mincemeat is then put back into it and served up. 
With respect to frogs, only the hindlegs are eaten, as there is no other 
fiesh on the reptile. Our great green tree frog (Hylus caerulea) would furni® 
many a delicate dish if once it became recognised that hindleg of frog is on? © 
the most delicate morsels in the world. 
The United States Fish Commissioner recently issued an interesting reper" 
upon frog-farming. He says that the value of frogs as food is now thoroug 
recognised, not only in France, but in America, the hindlegs only being ust a 
served. The annual catch in the United States is now stated to be little 1© 
dollars. This is equal to about 73d. each. A considerable quantity 1s caughe 
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