ALLIGATOR PEAR 



Alligators are very slow in growth, and when 

 fifteen years of age are not more than two 

 feet long, while nearly a hundred years are 

 required for them to reach their full length of 

 D feet. They are active animal* and 

 prey upon whatever game comes their way, 

 taking their food into the water below the 

 surface and eating it. In spite of their size 

 they are rather timid, but defend themselves 

 viciously if attacked; on shore they rush with 

 open mouth at their enemies and thrash their 

 powerful tails from side to side. The young 

 are hatched by the sun from eggs, of which the 

 female lays 200 or more in great heaps of 

 hie matter, each one slightly larger than 

 a hen's egg. 



During the winter months the alligator re- 

 mains under ground, in a torpid condition, and 

 while in this state is often dug out and killed. 

 This is not the only way in which alligators 

 are killed, however. They are angled for like 

 fish, with hook and line, dragged ashore and 

 then shot. See CROCODILE. 



ALLIGATOR PEAR or AVOCADO, av oh 

 kay' doh, an egg-shaped fruit, weighing from 

 one to two pounds, borne by an evergreen 

 tropical tree. When ripe it is usually dark 

 green in color on the outside., and contains a 



ALLIGATOR PEAR 



The illustration shows the whole fruit and 

 foliage, also the fruit halved. 



large round kernel embedded in the flesh, 

 which is light green and of the consistency of 

 firm butter. It is highly prized for its delicate 



206 ALLITERATION 



flavor and may bo eaten with sugar and cream 

 prinkling of salt and pepper. Alligator 

 dad is considered a luxury, and in the 

 southern states of the American Union the fruit 

 is used for flavoring soups. Its food value is 

 greater than that of most fruits, as it contains, 

 on an average, ten per cent of fat. 



In most tropical countries it is found grow- 

 ing wild; in California, Florida and Hawaii it 

 is extensively cultivated. In most large cities 

 of the United States it is sold at prices rang- 

 ing from forty to seventy-five cents each. It 

 is sometimes called vegetable butter, and is 

 known as "midshipman's butter" among sailors. 



AL'LISON, WILLIAM BOYD (1829-1908), an 

 American statesman, for thirty-five years 

 United States senator from Iowa. For twenty- 

 five years before his death he was chairman of 

 the important committee on appropriations, 

 and during his long service practically every 

 financial measure passed by Congress was at 

 least partly his work. He was joint author of 

 the Bland-Allison bill of 1878, which provided 

 for the purchase of silver bullion and the coin- 

 age of a certain number of silver dollars each 

 month. He took a prominent part in the dis- 

 cussion and amendment of the so-called rail- 

 road rate bill in 1906. He was several times 

 a prominent candidate for the Republican 

 nomination for President, and was always one 

 of the party's leaders. 



Allison was born at Perry, Ohio, was edu- 

 cated at Allegheny College, Pa., and Western 

 Reserve College, Ohio, and practised law in 

 Ohio until 1857, when he removed to Dubuque, 

 Iowa. He served in the Federal House of 

 Representatives as a Republican, from 1863 to 

 1871, and in 1873 was elected to the United 

 States Senate, being five times reflected. A 

 month before his death he was renominated for 

 a seventh term. 



ALLITERATION, al lit ur a' shun, the use 

 of the same or similar letters or sounds at the 

 beginning of two or more closely succeeding 

 words or syllables, as "purged of pride"; "a 

 damsel with a dulcimer" ; "the cloth that cloaks 

 the clay." Early poetry, whether English, Ger- 

 man or Norse, had no rhyme, and alliteration 

 was essential, and was arranged according to 

 a certain definite scheme. To-day, though no 

 longer looked upon as necessary, it is often 

 employed to add beauty or to bring out certain 

 effects. Thus Keats conveys perfectly the im- 

 pression of gentle waters against the bank 

 when he says, "I hear lake water lapping with 

 low sounds on the shore." Coleridge, Tenny- 



