250 CROCODILES AND CAYMANS. 



stone one day made his fire on one of these deserted 

 nests, which was strewed all over with the broken 

 shells. This nest was situated about six yards from 

 the river Zouga, with which, it communicated by a 

 broad path. This traveller has seen sixty eggs taken 

 from a single nest. The cayman a lunettes of 

 Cayenne, and the common crocodile on the banks of 

 the Nile, deposit a similar number of eggs; the latter 

 lay in February, the others in April. The common 

 crocodile confines itself to simply burying its eggs 

 in the sand ; the cayman a lunettes deposits them 

 between a double bed of leaves and straw. These 

 eggs are about the same size as those of a goose. 



They do not sit on their eggs, although Pliny states 

 the contrary, and pretends even that the male shares 

 with the female the cares of incubation. Solar heat, 

 and in certain cases that which results from the fer- 

 mentation of vegetable matter massed round the eggs, 

 suffices to bring them to perfection. The female of 

 the common crocodile even abandons her eggs after 

 she has buried them ; and at St. Domingo that of the 

 taper-nosed crocodile does the same ; but the female 

 of the cayman a lunettes (Guinea and Brazil) watches 

 over hers. " She always remains," says M. de la Borde, 

 " at a certain distance from her eggs, which she defends 

 with fury, should any one attempt to touch them." 



The eggs of these reptiles have indeed great need 



