224 BACKBONED ANIMALS. 



In the breeding-season the female utters a bark like a 

 dog. The eggs, somewhat resembling those of a goose, 

 are deposited among leaves in heaps, and when hatched 

 the young are led away by the mother and fed upon 

 masticated food. The India crocodiles in the dry sea- 

 son hibernate in the mud, which hardens about them. 

 A tent pitched unwittingly over such a case was once 

 overthrown by the awakening hibernator. Allied are 

 the long-nosed crocodiles (Gavia/tda), three species of 

 which are known, inhabiting the Ganges and rivers of 

 Borneo and North Africa. They attain a length of thirty 

 feet. 



VALUE. The teeth, flesh, hide, and oil, are all valued. 



Specimens for Study. In the spring months the eggs of 

 frogs and toads can be found in pools, and should be 

 placed in an aquarium or some vessel, and the changes 

 watched from day to day. In this way the history of the 

 animal can be followed from the egg to the adult, and the 

 habits, etc., observed. Eggs hardened in alcohol can be 

 cut into sections and examined. The simple skeleton of 

 the frog or toad affords an excellent object for study, and 

 should be prepared, the bones labeled and compared with 

 those of allied and higher forms, and the points of differ- 

 ence noted. Collections of the fauna of a neighborhood 

 or country are always valuable, and should comprise the 

 eggs, tadpoles in all stages up to the adult, preserved in 

 alcohol, and marked with locality, name, sex, etc. A book 

 of reference should also be kept, in which notes, observa- 

 tions, and sketches should be entered. 



and dispatched. A smaller specimen, that was taken into the boat and 

 supposed to be dead, suddenly recovered, upsetting it, and throwing 

 the occupants into the water. The animals are extremely wily, and 

 capture birds by jerking them under water by the legs ; and, to show 

 their marine habits, specimens have been seen on the reef four miles 

 from land. 



