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“ Another source of revenue, which is very profitable, is selling breeding Frogs to beginners, as it is only the "Edible Frog" that is profitable to raise for market, and it takes from four to five years to get the best breeders. They bring good prices. The prices range according to the age. Frogs will breed from two years old, but the best results are obtained from the older mates, as the older and larger the Frog, the heavier and larger the spawn, and the more eggs will hatch and produce stronger and sturdier tadpoles, and from these mates the Frogs grow large more quickly. ”

“ The work is light and with care and study can be made a source of a substantial income, and carried on intelligently Frog Raising is as certain a business and as profitable if not more than many undertakings, and you will always find a ready market for all the Frogs you can raise. Any one of the large Hotels or Restaurants in New York City will use more Frog meat in a year than one Frog Raiser can supply, and you can get a standing order for shipments of a certain number of pounds each week. ”

“ Among both civilized and savage men Frogs are a culinary dainty. The edible European Frog is so much prized in France that it is bred for the market in large preserves. In the United States both the Bullfrog and spring Frog are sold in the markets. In France and the United States the hind legs alone are eaten; they are known as "saddles" to American marketmen, and are usually served at table fried. In Germany all the muscular parts are served stewed, often with sauce. Frogs have enabled man to contribute much to his knowledge of physiology. ”

“ Frogs are very prolific. One bunch of eggs will hatch more than a thousand tadpoles, and if you had the facilities, they could be hatched and reared to marketable size. A good running stream, which can be coursed through all your ponds, makes Frog Raising very simple and profitable. A living can be made from "Frog Raising" if you are favorably located, and the main qualities needed is patience and good common sense, to which observation should be added. It takes Frogs, to grow to marketable size, from two to three years. ”

“ If you are living in the city the greater part of the year, and so fortunate as to have a country home, you by all means should put in a pond and Raise Frogs, as they will be a delicacy for yourself and also your friends when they come from the city to see you. ”

“ A good shape and cheap way to build the ponds is like the cut shown. If the ground you have won't allow of this arrangement why make to best arrangement your ground will permit for convenience, carrying out the plan advisable for Raising Frogs. You must have a breeding pond, a hatching pond, a raising and a stock pond, four ponds in all. The stock pond should be the largest, permitting of plenty of room for growing and opportunity to get food. The size of your ponds depends largely on the amount of land available, its topography and the water supply. ”

“ It is not advisable to place large bowlders in the pond, as they are in the way of seining or netting, and furnish an acceptable resort for crawfish, which are enemies when large. Nursery ponds should be constructed to afford young protection from enemies and to produce the greatest quantity of insect life suited for their sustenance, and this is better accomplished with a number of small ponds than with one large one. A good working size for spawn breeding is from 40 to 50 feet long, by 12 to 15 feet wide, with a depth of from 18 to 36 inches deep to the outlet. ”

“ The reproductive habits of Frogs are various. All of our common species lay their eggs in water, the eggs being fertilized as they are laid. As the eggs are laid they are inclosed in a gelatinous envelope secreted by the female. This swells and protects the eggs from injury, from being fed upon, from the direct rays of the sun, and in some species it serves to float the eggs at the surface of the water, where oxygen is most abundant; finally, the envelope serves as food for the young frogs. ”

“ If you have abundant means and delight in some hobby and want to make a fancy proposition out of it, why you can make your ponds as expensive and picturesque as you wish. But for those who wish to make a business for the benefit of the income to be derived, should start with a small pond and about six pairs of Frogs. Then gradually increase your breeding pond as your stock and ability to handle it demands. Don't start with Frogs under four years of age. ”

“ But it is well to give them access to small insect food, much of which they can get from surface of water. The food changes entirely when the tadpole develops into a Frog. When a frog, the food is entirely insect or live food. It is well, sometimes, when you cannot get facilities to supply naturally plenty of insect food, to take some of the smaller Frogs and tadpoles and place them in the ponds with the growing Frogs, and allow the Frogs to live on them. They must be fed live food. ”

“ Try yourself to buy Frog meat, and you will soon find that it's not to be had at any price in most places, and when it once becomes known that you are Raising Frogs you will soon find that your demand for Frog meat is much greater than you can supply. It works in very well with poultry raising if you can construct your ponds at not too great an expense, and is much more profitable considering the investment and work. ”

“ Early in the spring is the breeding season, and the Frogs will be seen in pairs, working in company, selecting nests, which are in place where there is a vegetation to attach the spawn, near the surface of the water, as the action of the sun has much to do with the hatching of the spawn. ”

“ If you are going into Frog Raising as a business, we recommend that you make a small beginning, for nothing is more discouraging, after having gone into a business exclusively, than to have reverses in the start and lose a large portion of your investment for want of a little practical experience. ”

“ In the larger pond place the breeding Frogs, and in the smaller one hatch out the spawn, and when they are developed into Frogs turn them loose on the swamp to grow until they maintain marketable size. If there is a small stream or ditch running through the swamp, which very often is the case, then it is an easy task. ”

“ In many tropical Frogs the reproductive habits are much modified. One species (Phyllobates trinitatis) of Venezuela and Trinidad carries its tadpoles on its back, to which the young attach themselves by means of their suckers. A frog of the Seychelles Islands lives in the tree-ferns far from water, and carries its young about on its back, to which they are attached by their bellies. In the Kameruns lives a Frog that lays its eggs in a foamy mass on the leaves of a tree. ”

“ Leave the tadpoles in the nursery pond until they have developed into Frogs. The tadpoles are fish in a sense and will eat most anything, either vegetable or animal matter. In fact, he is a scavenger, and will clean out the ponds. But as soon as he turns into a frog, he requires a different class of food, as he is an amphibious animal. Remember this, as herein, is one of the secrets that have caused so many failures. THE FOOD FOR FROGS IS ANIMAL FOOD.
Food for Frogs. ”

“ If they are not kept supplied, they will turn to and eat each other, and in this way destroy many a pound of good Frog meat, that is worth "One Dollar a pound" or more. As the tadpoles hatch out prolifically, it's wise to keep a quantity of these and the Small Frogs on hand to feed the larger ones that are being gotten ready for market. By having a number of small ponds, this stock can be kept on hand for this purpose. A plant that will grow on top of the water furnishes many insects, as well as perching places to basque, in the sun, and catch a passing unsuspecting fly. ”

“ It also affords a shady place to get under on a hot day, with head above water looking for food. One of the best and easiest ways to furnish live food is to soak a number of potato or feed bags with molasses, and fasten them up around the ponds, just above the ground. This draws the flies, and they will come within reach of the Frogs, and as you will see by the cut at top of this paragraph, the tongue of the Frog is developed to be of service in catching them. Small tadpoles from other species of frogs, that are not eatable, make good food for them. ”

“ In planting vegetable matter in the ponds be sure and always plant from seed, as in transplanting you may bring Leeches into your ponds, which are very destructive to the Frogs, and act on the Frogs the same as chicken lice do on chicken, and in time will kill the Frog, and at all times retard its growth. If your Frogs do not thrive well look for Leeches. ”

“ When the larvæ are developed the mass becomes slimy and the tadpoles swim about it, and when a heavy rain falls they are washed into pools of water lying at the bases of the trees. The foam is probably produced as it is in culinary operations, by air being entangled in it by a beating that the Frog gives the jelly with its feet. The inclosed air may well serve in respiration. ”

“ Great Profit in Swamp Lands.
Swamp lands, on a farm, converted into Froggeries, bring in large profits. If you have a piece of ground which is swampy, which can be found on most any farm, and you do not convert this into "Raising Frogs," you are losing one of the most profitable products of your farm, as more money can be made from an acre of swamp land in a Froggery than ten acres in wheat, if properly managed, and with little expense. ”

“ The frequency of this depends on character of the water supply, the amount of silt it brings into the ponds, the character of the soil, and on the thoroughness of the yearly removal of the surplus vegetation. Care should be taken that the ponds do not become offensive with stagnant water and rotten vegetation. This condition is detrimental to large production; while abundant pond vegetation is favorable to a large production of fry it must not become decayed. It is sometimes so luxuriant that it settles down in a blanket-like mass and smothers and pens in many of the young Frogs. ”

“ Another reason for separating the eggs or spawn from the breeding ponds is, when the spawn is hatched into tadpoles, the Frogs will eat the tadpoles as fast as they wiggle out of the egg. In fact, Frogs are cannibals, and will eat the young until they get large enough to protect themselves. ”

“ So in starting, it is always better to pay a little more for your breeding stock and not use so many pairs, and get good old settlers, as the saying is, when you hear them croak, "There is a good old settler." ”

“ Many who are unable to do heavy work will find Frog Raising a very desirable occupation. Being in the open air it tends to health, which is beneficial to those who are sickly and to whom it becomes necessary to take up one of the lighter occupations. ”

“ There are several ways by which to catch the Frogs when ready to market. If they are to be dressed they can be speared; this is done with a handle like is found on an ordinary house broom with a fish spear fastened in the end. One of the best times to spear them is at night with a light as they come on the bank at night to catch bugs. They can also be caught very readily with a hand net, same as used in landing trout. This net can be purchased at most any hardware store, or where they keep fishing tackle. If the Frogs are to be marketed alive they must be caught in this way. ”

“ The enemies are rats, cats, turtles, water centipedes, water beetles, coons, leeches and snakes. Snakes are one of the worst enemies, as they will devour the spawn, of which they are very fond, and also the small Frogs. ”

“ If it is necessary to feed your Frogs on small fry from fishes or on tadpoles and small Frogs, it might be well to have a supply pond, which can be small, and in feeding it is only necessary to feed twice a week, and can be done by putting quantities here and there in the ponds, and let the Frogs catch them as they swim about. ”

“ Those which live upon the ground in the neighborhood of standing water, and pass a considerable portion of their lives in the water, have their toes pointed, and those of the hinder feet united, almost to the tips, by membrane. ”

“ This can be done by lowering the ponds, if they are built so they can be drawn off, which is a very desirable and convenient way if the topography of the land will permit. A strong flat-bottom boat should be made, in which can be taken the surplus matted vegetation and carried off. At each end of the boat a ring should be fastened, through which stakes can be driven to hold the boat at points in the pond to be worked. ”