CONCERNING EGGS 65 



Another member of the crocodile family, known as 

 the garial or gavial, is remarkable on account of the 

 female's habit of depositing her eggs, to a number 

 of about forty, in two layers, which are separated 

 from one another by several feet of sand. The 

 reptile, which is the solitary representative of its 

 genus, grows to a length of almost thirty feet. It 

 is easily distinguished from all other members of 

 the Crocodilia owing to the great length and 

 slenderness of its snout, which, in the males, expands 

 at the end into an upstanding swelling. Its long 

 jaws are armed with a formidable array of sharp 

 teeth which serve to secure a firm hold of the fish 

 upon which the creature chiefly feeds. 



Although it has been known to attack and devour 

 human beings, yet as a rule it is of a more or less 

 harmless nature. Garials come from India, and 

 are found chiefly in the Ganges and Indus 

 rivers. 



Before passing to the tortoises, we may mention 

 that the ova of both the crocodiles and alligators are 

 oval in form, white in colour, and possess hard 

 shells. 



Although the members of the tortoise family are 

 oviparous, we find the eggs of the various species 

 (all of which are hard shelled except in the case of 

 the turtles) differ in regard to their shape, some 

 being round, and others oval. They also vary 

 considerably in size, those of the giant tortoises 

 being as large as cricket balls, and those of the 

 smaller kinds sometimes being no larger than acorns . 

 The land tortoises, the water tortoises, and the 



