CROCODILES. 57 



themselves in the mud, at the bottom of some 

 stagnant pond, and there they remain hidden in a 

 state of inactivity, till the return of milder weather. 

 It is asserted by travellers, that they always avoid 

 swiftly running streams and resort in preference 

 to the creeks of large rivers or to stagnant ponds. 

 In such localities they may be seen in immense 

 numbers, and in the remote parts of South 

 America which are unfrequented, they abound in 

 incredible multitudes, protruding their great flat 

 heads through the leaves of the aquatic plants, 

 such as the nymphcea and pontederia, which cover 

 the surface of the water, and there watch for their 

 prey : at other times they may be seen sleeping 

 or basking on the sunny banks. It is only 

 during the hottest part of the day that they ever 

 venture on shore : before evening they return 

 to the water, as night is their time for seeking 

 their prey, in which they manifest much activity. 

 Fishes constitute their chief food, and some phy- 

 siologists have supposed that the musky fluid 

 secreted by the glands under the throat, as 

 noticed above, forms a sort of bait by which their 

 prey is attracted towards them. It is very rare 

 that the Alligators attack man, unless their eggs 

 or their young are in danger ; but it is said that 

 the female of these reptiles manifests a much 

 more tender care for her offspring than is ex- 

 hibited by this class in general. She generally 

 lays from fifty to sixty eggs in one place, which 

 are about as large as those of the goose ; these she 

 covers over with sand, leaving them to be hatched 

 by the heat of the sun ; but she never removes to 

 any great distance from them. The young ones 

 when they come forth from the shell are about 



