The Crocodile of the Nile. 517 



THE CROCODILE OF THE NILE. 

 (Crocodilus vulgaris.) 



THIS animal is frequently thirty feet long. The female 

 lays its eggs in the sand, where they are hatched by the 

 heat of the sun ; and the mother is said to take no care 

 of the young ones. The head of this species, as of all 

 the true Crocodiles, is twice as long as it is broad ; the 

 snout is pointed and unequal, and the eyes, which are 

 small, are placed very far asunder. The colour is a 

 greenish bronze, speckled with brown, and of a yellow- 

 ish green underneath : six rows of nearly equal-sized 

 plates run along the back. This Crocodile is less fero- 

 cious than some of the other kinds, and, when taken 

 young, may be tamed, It is common in Senegal and 

 other parts of Africa, as well as in the Nile. 



The method which the African adopts to kill this for- 

 midable creature displays considerable ingenuity and 

 courage. Having wrapped a thick cloth round his arm, 

 and provided himself with a long knife, he proceeds to 

 the known haunt, usually a reedy swamp or river. The 



