Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-06-02
For the Freeman.
A Chat with Farmers.
ABOUT HIBERNATING ANIMALS
BY AGRICOLA,

AbOOl hlBEhNAIlNG ANIMALS,
The alligator belongs TO the saurian
family, and is near akin to the crocodile
1t is large carnivorous, amphibious
reptile, whose home is in America. The
alligator differs from the crocodile in MANY
respects. 1t has a shorter head; its
length from the articulation of its laws
is to its breadth as three to two; its teeth
are unequal in length and size, there BEING
from nineteen to twenty-five on each side
OF the lower jaw, and nineteen or twenty
in the upper. And here is another peen-
llarlty: AT a certain age the front teeth
of The under Jaw pierce through the
upper, and the fourth from the front,
which is the largest of all, enters into
corresponding holes in the upper law.
he hind legs and feet are round, and the
hve toes are not completely webbed and
only the interior ones have claws. The
tail is of great length, and is used as an
oar in water, and is weapon of defence
on land
The alligator hibernates in winter and
unlike the crododile in this respect also,
buries itself in the mud of stagnant rivers
This reptile lives principally upon fish,
though it would not hesitate to swallow a
good size land animal, or even n man,
| coming in its way before dinner.
1he alligator, unlike the crocodile, is
no. found in rnnning water, but in stag
nant ponds, and the creeks of large rivers,
where they are found, especially in South
America. in large numbers, among the
leaves of aquatic plants, watching for
prey. Sometimes they ars seen basking
or sleeping on the bank. They seldom
come on shore, except in the heat of the
day, and always return to the water on the
approach of night, when they take the
most of their food.
They lay from fifty to sixty eggs in one
nest-about the size of goose egg. These
they cover with sand, and leave them to
be Matched by the heat of the sun. They
do not, however, 60 far away from their
nest, but watch anxiously for the Matching
OF the young. These, when they come
from the egg. are five Or six inches long,
and are Immediately conducted to the
water by the mother. But they little
realize to what peril they are born. Not
half OF them survive beyond infancy.
The male alligators, like the crocodile,
devour all they can lay their teeth on, and
ravenous fishes join in the war of exter-
mination. And the filthy vulture seems to
have been created for no other good pur-
pose, except to devour the alligator's and
crocodile s eggs. If these animals were
not very prolific the race would soon be-
come extinct through natural causes. And
on the other hand, if these destructive
agencies were not in operation, the reptile
tribes would become SO numerous that
neither man or beast could occupy the
same territory.
We see here again the law of adjust
ment in full operation. The whole animal
world regulates itself through the destruc-
ton OF races ms the necessary consequence
OF the existence of others. If it was any
OF our business, we might inquire why
, the alligator, crocodile and vulture were
created at all? But the ftlct is all we have
to deal with.
; The alligator which inhabits the waters
OF the southern states is fourteen or fifteen
feet long. and has u head one-seventh the
length of the body and half AS broad, at
the articulation of its jaws, as it is long.
This species are far more voracous and
fierce than those found in South America.
The female of this species is remarkable
for her devotion to her eggs and her
young never leaving her nest out of sight
until the eggs are Matched, and never
forsaking the young until they are able to
care for and protect themselves.
A distinguished naturalist found great
numbers OF these reptiles in the mineral
, springs in Florida, where the water in
which they lived was nearly at the boiling
point, and strongly imprcgnated with cop
per and vitriol.
The alligator of Guiana and Surinam is
not rs large rs the species Just described,
and not us fierce. The female takes no
care of her eggs after they are once de.
, posted and properly covered with sand
This species has bony eyebrows which
form large knobs. The alligator of Brazil
has long ridge between the eyes extend
) ing toward the snout. The alligator of
, tropical America has longer head than
| the North American species, and the eyes
) are surrounded by prominent rims of bone
connected by n ridge between the orbits,
giving the appearance OF pair of specta-
cles. Just think of it-an alligator with
, his spectacles on! This kind grows to the
: length of eighteen feet. 1t is not danger
Gus for man or dog, unless they intrude
upon its hatching ground
On the Nile the crocodile has its protec-
tor bird, the dotterei, and its enemy bird,
the ichneumon, but the American alliga-
tors have neither this friend nor enemy.