REPTILTA 171 



2500 skins; one man took 800 skins in i year; another man collected 

 42 skins in one night. At Fort Pierce 12 men took 4000 skins in 

 1889. In 1899, three firms at Kissimmee handled 33,600 hides. After 

 this time the total number of hides taken and the average per man 

 diminished greatly. 



Besides being killed for their hides, the alligators have been de- 

 stroyed by the thousands merely for wanton sport, so that in 1902 it 

 was estimated their numbers in Florida and Louisiana were less than 

 one-fifth of what they were 20 years before that time, and unless steps 

 be taken to prevent it, the alligator hide, as an article of commerce, may 

 cease to exist in our Southern States. 



It has been claimed that the destruction of the alligator has allowed 

 the cane rat and muskrat to increase to a serious extent, the former 

 doing great damage to crops, the latter often injuring the levees to a 

 dangerous extent. Legislation to forbid the killing of alligators of less 

 than 4 or 5 feet in length has been suggested and should be passed, 

 since animals of less size have almost no commercial value for leather. 



In 1902, the annual output from the tanneries of the United States 

 approximated 280,000 skins, worth about $420,000. Of these about 

 56 per cent, came from Mexico and Central America, 22 per 

 cent, from Florida, 20 per cent, from the other Gulf States. 

 South American hides are not handled by the United States markets. 



Probably the greater part of the hides from Mexico and Central 

 America are those of the Caiman. 



In 1908, there were marketed from the South Atlantic and Gulf 

 States 372,000 pounds of alligator hides, valued at $61,000. 



According to the United States Bureau of Fisheries the hunter 

 in 1891 averaged about 60 cents for the skin, while in 1902 the price 

 averaged about 90 cents, varying between 15 cents and $2, depend- 

 ing on the size and condition of the skin. "Prime hides 5 feet long, 

 with no cuts, scale slips, or other defects, are worth about 95 cents each, 

 in trade, when the hunter sells them at the country stores, and about 

 $1.10 cash, at the tanneries. Those measuring 7 feet are worth $1.55; 

 6 feet, $1.12; 4 feet, 52 cents, and 3 feet, 25 cents. Little de- 

 mand exists for those under 3 feet in length" (Report of Commis- 

 sioner of Fish and Fisheries, 1902, p. 345). Hides of 7 feet are in 

 most demand, those over 10 feet are not much used. The income 



