The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1890-12-12
i BUSINESS N ALLlcAroRs.
DIFFERENCE Between the Cr"ondlie sad
Alligator I,reparatlen Of Specimens.

Alligator Preparation Of Specimens.
--<A-ls-
Id gain ohe's daily bread by mems Of
alliyators must be 1T all limts a .,irly
precario,is method Of existence. anil
vet tho colored man In Florida does
manage to pick up many IN honest
penny BY, means OF The American
saurian.. rio taxidermist finds. too.
In the alligator his opportunity; and
though ten-foot gator never can be
very desirable. even when stuffed, lit
lie gators properly prepared aud
mounted are In good demand, aud are
brought home In quantity by the
Northern tourist
We need not lind fault with nature.
mud tax her with having sighted us in
the crccodiieaaS II IN Inlia there Is
Tho gavial. ID Egypt ihcid Is tlt troco.
lille, and Id Amcrica ting alligator anI
The eayiuan. II can irar,llS be sues.
toned but that We hdvG III this cont.
hent both the crocodile anl the alii-
gator; The maiI poinL Of difference,
littorliay 10 Mr. HornaJay, between
ibc crocodile aud the alligator Is rs
follows: "a crocodile is distinguished
by triangular head. of which the
snOnt Is the apex. II narrow inuzzlc.
aud canine teeth in the lower jaw
which pass freely upward in the notch.
Is in the side Of tho upper: whereas
the alligator talso caynian OF sicarc)
has n broad Hat muyzr, aud lite famine
lttlh of the lower Jaw 1T ihlU sockets
III The under surface Of the Upper law. :"
The business Of collecting the skins
III nlligators has already somewhat
diminished the quantity OF these snui-
rians in certain parts of Florida, but
they are still to be found In large mum.
> bcrs further inland. 1t Ia barely sup.
possible that all gatprs hyrer VIII be-
Come extinct in Florida while those
vast interior lakes aud swamps exist.
A visit paid by II naturalist this year to
Florida was convincing that alligat ors
were still very abundant. To kill an
alligator. however, is by no mean. NJ
difficult ms TO secure him.
The gators bask In ,hu sin IN TIC
long stretches Of sand. but they are
never quite asleep. they always seem
to be On their guard. and repose. never
very far from the water. with their
heads pointing in the direction of
flight.
Gathering eggs requires some skill.
because the saurian mother has clever
way Of hiding her trail. Sometimes
us many rs forty eggs arc found in a
nest few inches below the level. 1t
Is not the invnriable habit Of the moth
or TO pack iuto the nest dccayed vc.e-
lalI> t,,.ttar IL nrlar IA ,,,li o., Ito
heat. Generally the warmth of the
sun Is sufficient.
The eggs have slight musky flavor.
aud an experiment once made with an
oniclct Of alligator eggs suilices. To
eat gator is unknown. mud endeavors
In this direction have never been re-
peated. Mr.. Hornaday tells, however.
Of having eaten tho South-Amcrican
variety. where the feed was fish, aud
declares "that the flesh was white,
tender, free from all disngrecablc
inusky odors, and toolhsome as the
incest roast veal"
size OF the alligator MS 10 whether you
will take seat on him or not. His
jaws are not so much to be dreaded as
lash oil his tail.
Ky, mass! you no wanicc frcs' ga
tor dis morning. Is about the cry oi
the vender Of baby alligators in Jack
sonville. ms he plunges his hand into !,
bucket swung on one arm. and hauls
out little ugly, squirming. swapping
monster. These little gators may
have been found by their owners Just
emerging from their nests. or he may
have secured them us eggs. and
Matched them out himself. The infant
saurians show their natural instinct
early, and will bite at once.
An alligator Is n queer pet. aud to
tame an adult seems TO he quite impos.
sible. II intelligence is proportional
TO bulk Of brsin. that Of the alligator Ia
especially small. In disscctiug u large
sized alligator the brain substance will
barely I'LL an ege.cup. We are not to
look upon gator Ms capable OF any
attachments. When Young CATER hav.
ing had some Of their teeth drawu)
they arc occasionally seen about
houses.
There are few Of the native tax
idermists Ia Florida who devote n por-
ton Of their time TO the preparation Of
specimens. and notably Of little alllga.
tors. Generally, however. some ono
In the line Of business who lives In n
Northern city goes TO Florida for tho
winter for his health. aud carries out
his calling by mounting young alliga.
ors.-Hdrper's Weekly.