150 NEW: YORK “ZOOLOGICAL #SOGIBAY- 
AMAZON CAIMAN. 
been furnished with advance sheets of a paper* by him which 
shows that in Florida the alligator deposits its eggs much earlier 
in the year. Dr. Reese made detailed investigations of the nesting 
habits with a view to obtaining embryological material. The 
following is an extract from this article: 
“One of the first things to be determined, of course, in the col- 
lection of embryological material is the time at which the eggs 
are laid. Judging from the statements of native hunters the laying 
season of the alligator might be thought to be at any time from 
January to September. As a matter of fact, the month of June 
is the time when most, if not all, of the eggs are laid. S. F. 
Clarke gives June oth and June 17th as the limits of the laying 
season in Florida, but I found at least one nest in which eggs 
were laid as late as June 26th; no eggs were found before the 
first date given by Clarke. It seemed quite certain that the laying, 
during the season in question, had been delayed by an extreme 
drought that had dried up the smaller swamps and reduced the 
alligator holes to mere puddles. 
*This paper is to be published officially at Washington. 
