THE LIVING WORLD. 
*73 
They produce their young by eggs, and for this purpose the female, when she 
comes to lay, chooses a place by the side of a river, or some fresh water 
lake, to deposit her brood in. She always pitches upon an extensive sandy 
shore, where she may dig a hole without danger of detection from the ground 
being fresh turned up. The shore must also be gentle and shelving to the water, 
for the greater convenience of the animal’s going and returning; and a con¬ 
venient place must be found near the edge of the stream, that the young may 
have a shorter way to go. When all these requisites are adjusted, the animal 
is seen cautiously stealing upon the shore to deposit her burden. The presence 
of a man, a beast, or even a bird, is sufficient to deter her at that time; and if 
she perceives any creature looking on, she infallibly returns. If, however, noth¬ 
ing appears, she then goes to work, scratching up the sand with her fore-paws, 
and making a hole pretty deep in the shore. There she deposits from eighty 
to a hundred eggs, of the size of a tennis-ball, and of the same figure, covered 
with a tough white skin, like parchment. She takes above an hour to perform 
this task; and then covering up the place so artfully that it can scarcely be 
perceived, she goes back to return again the next day. Upon her return, with 
the same precaution as before, she lays about the same number of eggs; and the 
day following also a like number. Thus having deposited her whole quantity, 
/and having covered them close up in the sand, they are soon vivified by the 
heat of the sun; at the end of thirty days the young ones begin to break 
open the shell. At this time the female is instinctively taught that her young 
ones want relief; and she goes upon land to scratch away the 6and, and set 
them free. Her brood quickly avail themselves of their liberty; a part run 
unguided to the water; another part ascend the back of the female, and are 
carried thither in greater safety. But the moment they arrive at the water, all 
natural connection is at an end ; when the female has introduced her young to their 
natural element, not only she, but the male, becomes among the number of their 
most formidable enemies, and devour as many of them as they can. The whole 
brood scatters into different parts of the bottom ; by far the greater number is 
destroyed, and the rest find safety in their agility or minuteness. 
But it is not the crocodile alone that is thus found to thin their numbers; 
the eggs of this animal are not only a delicious feast to the savage, but are 
eagerfy sought after by every beast and bird of prey. The ichneumon was 
erected into a deity among the ancients for its success in destroying the eggs 
of these monsters; at present that species of the vulture called the Gallinazo 
is their most prevailing enemy. All along the banks of great rivers, for thou¬ 
sands of miles, the crocodile is seen to propagate in numbers that would soon 
overrun the earth, but for the vulture, that seems appointed by Providence to 
abridge its fecundity. These birds are ever found in greatest numbers where 
the crocodile is most numerous ; and hiding themselves within the thick branches 
of the trees that shade the banks of the river, they watch the female in silence, 
and permit her to lay all her eggs without interruption. Then when she has 
retired they encourage each other with cries to the spoil; and flocking all 
together upon the hidden treasure, tear up the eggs, and devour them in a 
much quicker time than they were deposited. Nor are they less diligent m 
attending the female while she is carrying her young to the water ; for if any 
one of them happen to drop by the way, it is sure to receive no mercy. 
