ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 145 
FLORIDA CROCODILE. 
dance in the latter state. It would therefore appear that the rate of 
growth figured in a following list is actually below the normal, 
rather than above it. The table in question, however, was com- 
piled from actual specimens and the tape line, all theoretical de- 
ductions being eliminated. 
Our observations in the Reptile House were made under what 
we consider the best possible conditions. Our alligator quarters 
are commodious, giving the reptiles ample room for swimming, 
while they are provided with banks floored with sand upon which 
the animals may emerge from the water. During the cold months 
of the year the water of the tanks is kept heated, by means of © 
a submerged pipe, to a temperature varying between go and 95 
degrees Fahrenheit, while the temperature of the Reptile House 
ranges from 75 to 85 degrees F. Owing to a generous supply of 
tropical plants, the atmosphere of the building is very moist. We 
find that if alligators are kept in water of a lower temperature 
than that mentioned during the cold months they feed indifferently 
and irregularly, even though the temperature of the air 1s satis- 
factory. They prefer to pass the greater part of their time in the 
water, consequently this medium, to promote normal development 
must have a high temperature. The average captive “‘pet”’ 
