THE ALLIGATOR'S LIFE HISTORY 111 



and fifth, nest temperature ninety-four degrees; outside tem- 

 perature ninety-five degrees. August eleventh, nest tem- 

 perature ninety-two degrees, outside ninety-seven degrees. 



The foregoing is a record of a normal nesting of an al- 

 ligator, and I have observed a very great many such nest- 

 ings, and have always been convinced that the method of 

 nest-building employed by alligators (that is the using of 

 green plant material mixed with mud and partly decayed 

 vegetation) was for the purpose of creating a proper and 

 even temperature in which the embryo would develop. A 

 most unusual nesting came under my observation during 

 the Summer of 1933, which confirms this supposition. 



On June 7, 1933, an alligator started scraping together 

 some dry leaves and dry earth on top of a small point ex- 

 tending from my experimental planting garden into the 

 water garden on the north side of my Wild Life Refuge. 

 No grass or wet material was in the pile which was about 

 three inches high, on dry ground, when I first saw it. On 

 the eighth, a number of eggs was deposited in a slight 

 hollow in the loose material, the eggs lying on the hard 

 ground, and when I saw the nest about eight o'clock on the 

 eighth, the top covering of the eggs was so light that a por- 

 tion of some of them could be seen. At 10:30, the morn- 

 ing of the ninth, about ten inches of dry earth scooped up 

 by the alligator's jaws from near the nest had been placed 

 on top of the eggs, the nest then measured fourteen inches 

 high and thirty-eight inches across. This nest was visited 

 every few days and it was noted that the mother took care 

 of her nest, for after each rain the top was slicked down 

 by her crawling over it, and on dry days the top was made 

 wet as was usual. On August 7, I, thinking it was about 

 time for the eggs to hatch, made a small opening in the nest, 

 took out one of the eggs, and on opening it was surprised to 

 find the embryo only about two-thirds developed. A sec- 

 ond egg was then opened with the same result. I was much 

 surprised at the smallness of the embryo as the eggs should 



