58 THE ALLIGATOR'S LIFE HISTORY 



degrees Fahrenheit all the year and fed continuously as de- 

 scribed by Ditmars in "The Reptile Book," pages eighty- 

 five and eighty-six. 



Two YEARS OLD Two YEARS OLD 



New York, N. Y. Avery Island, Louisiana 



Average length 23 inches Average length 40.7 inches 

 Average weight 3 pounds Average weight 10 pounds 



13 ounces 

 FIVE YEARS OLD 



FOUR YEARS OLD 

 Average length 66 inches 



Average weight 50 pounds Average length 62 inches 



Average weight 24 pounds 

 Not Given 15 ounces 



Six YEARS OLD 



Average length 72 inches 

 Average weight 52 pounds 



This comparison tends to show that little alligators un- 

 der natural conditions make a much more rapid growth 

 during the first two years than those in confinement. After 

 the second year those in confinement grow more rapidly 

 and put on more weight than those under natural condi- 

 tions. Probably because those in confinement are kept in 

 an even temperature and fed through the entire twelve 

 months, and those under natural conditions are dormant 

 and do not feed for the five cold months of each year. 



The following comparison is the first record of the dif- 

 ference in the rate of growth in alligators between the 

 sexes. This lot of alligators were toe-marked, measured, 

 weighed and liberated when first hatched, August, 1921. 

 Many of them were caught each year thereafter and their 

 weight and growth recorded up to the sixth year. At the 

 beginning of the sixth year I found they were doing so much 



