20 THE ALLIGATOR'S LIFE HISTORY 



the little one to go free. There are five fingers and four 

 toes; the inside three of each member being provided with 

 strong claws. 



To quote all the published mis-statements concerning 

 the life history of the alligator and correct them would 

 require several volumes the size of this book and larger. 

 I will, however, refer to a few of them, so that a small 

 idea may be gained as to how this poor reptile has been 

 maligned. 



In writing of the nesting habits of alligators, Dr. Hugh 

 M. Smith, in the Bulletin, United States Fish Com., XI, 

 1891, page 343, gives the following information: 



"The maternal alligator in April or May seeks a 

 sheltered spot on a bank and there builds a small mound. 

 The foundation of the mound is of mud and grass, and 

 on this she lays some eggs. She covers the eggs with 

 another stratum of grass and mud upon which she de- 

 posits some more eggs. Thus she proceeds until she has 

 laid from one hundred to two hundred eggs." 



The facts are that the maternal alligator builds her nest 

 complete before beginning to deposit her eggs. All the 

 eggs are laid at one continuous time, and not in layers. No 

 material is put between them. The greatest number of 

 eggs I have ever seen in the hundreds of nests I have 

 opened was sixty-two (62), and the most ever reported to 

 me was eighty-eight (88). 



Dr. Smith in this same article further states: 



"Unfortunately alligators grow very slowly. At fif- 

 teen years of age they are only two feet long. A twelve 

 footer may be reasonably supposed to be seventy-five 

 (75) years old." 



The facts are that alligators grow at an average of about 

 twelve inches a year up to a length of nine or ten feet in 

 the males, and under normal conditions a two foot alligator 



