ALONG THE STREAM 239 



half -demented naturalist had a remarkable faculty 

 for finding rare and unknown animals. 



The crocodile may be distinguished from the 

 much more common alligator by its narrow snout, 

 by its greater activity, and by the character of its 

 nest. It simply scoops out a hole in the sand and 

 deposits fifty to seventy-five eggs in successive 

 layers, smoothing over the cache in a perfectly 

 level manner. The alligator lays its eggs well 

 back from the fresh-water streams, the nest being 

 hidden in vegetation and finally finished with a 

 mound of leaves, dead wood, or stumps. In their 

 battles the clumsy alligator is no match for the 

 crocodile with its powerful array of long, sharp 

 teeth. For much information concerning these 

 giant reptiles I am indebted to Willoughby who 

 tells (in Across the Everglades) of killing a thirteen- 

 foot specimen, and also to Dimock's accotmts of 

 them in his Florida Enchantments. He captured 

 one on the south shore of the mainland fourteen 

 feet and two inches long. Dimock also gives very 

 interesting accounts of alligators. 



I doubt if the latter reptile has ever been so 

 abundant or aggressive in Lower Florida as it was 

 formerly in the northern part of the State. I 



