CROCODILES. 63 
in which an egg of Crocodilus porosus, brought from the fort 
ditch at Vellore to Walter Elliott, Esq., was hatched in the 
Government House compound, and in eight years had increased 
to the length of 8ft. or 9ft. becoming so powerful as to destroy a 
- full-grown buck antelope which had come to drink at the tank.” 
Some of the Crocodilia deposit their eggs in the sand on the 
banks of the water in which they live; while others place them 
in layers in a kind of nest formed of vegetable substances, the 
fermentation of which generates a heat suitable for hatching them. 
The female Alligator seems to keep a watchful eye upon the 
locality of her treasures, and also shows a certain amount of care 
for the little ones when they appear. Indeed, it has been said 
that, like the viper and some other snakes, she will open her 
mouth and allow her young to enter it and thus shield them 
from threatened danger. 
Crocodile and Alligator eggs can be hatched either in an in- 
cubator or under a hen. The little Reptiles at first are not 
much more than 6in. long. They may be reared by hand with- 
out difficulty. If at first they refuse to feed, minced raw meat 
must be pushed down their throats two or three times a week. 
A young Alligator or a young Crocodile is a very interesting 
possession, as I have said, the former being the hardier of the 
two. It is an unusual pet, indeed, and likely to be remarked 
upon. People never seem to think that such an animal can be 
less than a dozen feet in length, and comparatively harmless. 
‘¢ Are you not afraid that the dreadful beast will hurt or kill your 
children?” is a remark I have heard. A M.F.H. said to me the 
other day: ‘‘I hear you keep an alligator?” ‘‘ Yes,” I replied. 
‘‘Do you wish to hunt him?” ‘‘Oh, no,” retorted he, jokingly. 
‘*T am afraid he would hunt me!” 
When anyone is desirous of keeping in confinement such an 
animal, he should procure it when it is between 1ft. and 2ft. 6in. 
in length. These Reptiles can occasionally be bought cheaply in 
London or Liverpool. They soon learn to know their fosterer, 
and if kindly treated come at his call. When placed in a large 
and properly-heated tank, they grow rapidly and seem to lose 
their naturally fierce disposition. In the central tank of the Reptile 
House, Regent’s Park, London, there used to be a large Alligator 
