SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 151 



color changes. There seems to be some tonic in the sunshine, 

 the soil, and outdoor air. A snake born in August in a wild 

 state will, before hibernating-time, grow a third larger than one 

 born in captivity, no matter how much food may be provided the 

 latter. With this taken into consideration, it is probable that 

 captive raised and wild alligators grow at much the same rate per 

 year, even though the latter hibernate for a few months of the 

 year. 



Although this rapid growth of young crocodilians is in direct 

 opposition to the general ideas regarding them, it does not apply 

 merely to the young of those reptiles. The large occupants of 

 the crocodile pool have increased in length to a surprising degree 

 since their arrival at the Park. Our largest Alligator, a ponder- 

 ous specimen named Alose, and one of the largest crocodilians 

 in captivity, has grown five inches since his arrival at the Park 

 in July, 1899. Another line alligator, now growing with such 

 rapidity that it will soon rival "Mose" in dimensions, measures 

 at the present time 10 feet, 11 inches. During its first year in 

 the Park this reptile grew one foot, three inches, measuring at 

 the expiration of the year, eight feet, two inches. During the 

 second year it increased one foot, one and one-half inches, and 

 measured nine feet, three and one-half inches. Last year this 

 reptile grew one foot, seven and one-half inches, and now it 

 measures within an inch of eleven feet. 



During the rearing of specimens, the curator has enjoyed ad- 

 mirable opportunities for noting the transitions in color from the 

 young to the mature form. An interesting example of this is 

 the coloration of several of the young crotaline snakes. These 

 reptiles are born with the tips of the tails, for the length of about 

 an inch, of a brilliant sulphur yellow. When food is introduced 

 into the cage with these young vipers, they communicate a 

 writhing, twisting motion to their tails, causing the latter to 

 closely resemble small worms, or maggots. Possibly nature has 

 provided these young vipers with this dash of brilliant color to 

 attract small birds, lizards, or frogs within their reach, as they 

 lie coiled and dif^cult to discern from the surrounding vegeta- 

 tion. This characteristic has been observed in the Copperhead 

 Snake (Ancistrodon contortrix), the Water Moccasin (A. pisci- 

 z'orns), and the Fer-de-Lance (Lachcscs lanccolatiis). After the 

 first year, the yellow of the tail becomes very indistinct, and dur- 

 ing the second year it disappears altogether. 



With some of the crotaline snakes, the colors of the young 

 are very brilliant, although they exhibit much the same pattern 



