150 ^'EW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



AMAZON CAIMAN. 



been furnished with advance sheets of a paper* by him which 

 shows that in Florida the alhgator deposits its eggs much earher 

 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 9th 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 officialh' at Washington. 



