HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
and is said to prefer the flesh of the negro to all 
other foods. 
"During the heat of the day these animals 
normally lie stretched and languid on the banks, 
or in the mud, on the shores of the rivers and 
lagoons; — and as the other natives of such locality 
— the winged ones which sport in the sun ex- 
cepted — are generally at rest at such times, the 
consequence is that, during the day, they capture 
but few animals excepting such as wander near 
them. 
" When evening- comes, however, they begin 
to move and the roaring of the larger ones is 
terrific. It has been aptly described as a compound 
of the sounds of the bull and the bittern, but far 
louder than either, and it grates and shivers on the 
ear, as if the ground were shaking. Whether this 
produces any effect upon the prey of the alligators 
— in making that prey disclose itself by its efforts 
to escape — is not known; and, indeed, harsh and 
terrific as it is, it seems not only to be the common 
noise of the reptiles, but also their love-song, 
which they emit frequently and freely in the pair- 
ing season. 
" At the pairing-period the males engage in 
fierce, though uncouth battles and not — so far as 
has 1 been observed — at any other; so that the air 
inference is that, these are battles of gallantry. 
They usually take place in the water, though in 
the shallows, rather than in the depths, and at 
first, at least, they are bouts of cudgel-play, rather 
than battles with the teeth. When it comes to the 
latter, they are desperate, and the death of one, 
sometimes both, is inevitable. It is said that the 
alligator gets no chance to give a second bite and 
so is little disposed to leave the first one until the 
object seized is fairly under the water. The jaws 
close in the same manner as those of the biting- 
turtles, and they can with difficulty only be 
wrenched asunder. 
"On some occasions the alligators will beset 
the mouth of some retired creek, into' which they 
have previously driven the fish, bellowing so loud 
as to' be heard at great distance. To catch the 
fish, they dive under a shoal and, having secured 
one, rise to the surface, toss it into the air, to get 
rid of the water they necessarily take along with 
it, and catch it again on its descent. 
"Latterly, the demand for the alligator hide 
has risen by leaps and bounds the country ewer, 
and so rapidly are the schools of the creatures 
being reduced, that actual farms for their raising 
are being conducted at tremendous profit. 
"The pictures show some interesting speci- 
mens of these curious and most useful of bavou- 
saurains." 
THE ADVENTURES OF A SKUNK. 
By Mrs. C. Prioleau, F.R.Z.S. 
Last Spring I sent to America for a pair of 
skunks as I wanted to try and breed some as pets. 
They arrived, after being six weeks at sea, in 
splendid condition. I put them into a wired en- 
closure with rabbit hutch, that they could go into 
when inclined. All went well (except that thev 
did not breed) till one day in June, I fed them as 
usual. About an hour after, I noticed that Mrs. 
Skunk was unusually active running up and down 
and biting at the wire. I went into the enclosure 
and found she was trying toi bite through the wire 
to get out, and that Mr. Skunk had already done 
so and had disappeared. A thorough search was 
at once made for a good distance all round the 
enclosure. After some hours we gave it up as a 
bad job. 
One day last month (January) I was asked to 
go over to a farm 6 miles off to see a curious animal 
that had been caught when threshing out some 
corn. On arrival, to my surprise, I saw my long 
lost Mr. Skunk in a cage hanging on the wall. 
He was in first rate condition, well nourished, with 
a beautiful coat, very annoyed at being captured, 
but otherwise not wild. I brought him back and 
introduced him to Mrs. Skunk, but I am sorrv 
to say a few days after he attacked and killed her. 
I shall have to begin all over again, and have asked 
Mr. Hamlyn to supply another female,. 
I should think this case is unique; surely it is 
the first time in Great Britain that a skunk has 
roamed the country side for six months, and come 
to no harm. If only people would take the trou- 
ble to breed skunks I am certain it would be a 
profitable business, not only for their fur, but to 
tame them as pets. They are easy to tame, es- 
pecially the male, who has not got the curved 
teeth that his mate has; thev are far more intelli- 
gent than a lemur or mongoose. 
I have been told that the smell would prevent 
them from becoming popular; this is nonsense, 
with scent sacs removed there is absolutely no 
smell. In America, these animals are kept as pets, 
running- loose in the house like a dog; why cannot 
we do the same in England? At any rate I mean 
to try. 
THE STORY OF THE DUBLIN 
ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
By W. ,\. Henderson-. 
Reprinted from the "Dublin Saturday Herald, 
27th Mav, 1916. 
The dominant feature of the Dublin Zoo is 
beauty of situation. Neither of its models — 
