HABITS. 255 



in the evening a frightful hubbub, and that he had 

 frequent opportunities of hearing it. M. cle Courdi- 

 niere, in his " Observations sur le Crocodile de laLoui- 

 siane," and M. dela Borde, in the notes already quoted, 

 make analogous depositions. These testimonies can- 

 not be weakened by the otherwise undeniable fact 

 that, during a residence of many years on the banks 

 of the Orinoco, Humboldt, although surrounded every 

 night by crocodiles, never heard the voice of these 

 animals. 



Herodotus has stated, with truth, that of all the 

 animals which come out of an egg, the crocodile is of 

 the largest dimensions. 



The common crocodile is generally from eighteen to 

 twenty feet in length, but they have been seen nearly 

 forty feet long; the size of the cayman a lunettes 

 varies from twelve to fourteen feet, that of the. taper- 

 nosed cayman attains the same length. The great 

 gavial of the Ganges is from twenty-five to thirty 

 feet in length, and is said sometimes to exceed forty 

 feet. Their growth is very slow. Aristotle thought 

 that it continued during the whole life of the animal. 

 It is now thought that it continues for twenty 

 years. Viscount de Fontange, Commandant of the 

 island of St. Domingo, kept for twenty-six months 

 some crocodiles which he had seen hatched. Their 



