The American Alugator 13 



farms, however, proved to be a source of attraction 

 for visitors, and at the larger of the modern estab- 

 lishments, the number of alligators on hand runs up 

 to several thousand, of which probably a few hun- 

 dred are of breeding age. They are kept in enclosures 

 of wire netting, with concrete lined pools or streams. 

 They must be assorted somewhat according to size, 

 and extremely large individuals are given separate 

 pens. There seems to be no authentic account of their 

 breeding habits in captivity, and observations on this 

 point would be of great interest. Alligator farming 

 appears to be a successful enterprise, for in 1921, in 

 addition to adult specimens sold to zoological parks, a 

 single farm in Jacksonville, Florida, sold over ten 

 thousand baby alligators. 



Karl P. Schmidt, 

 Asnatant Curator of Reptiles and AmphiMaru. 



[87] 



