, 1893-05-27

t~eresting in these modern survivors OF the
ancient saurians which swarmed in the hot
and steaming waters oflthe prehistoric world,
and seem, like the elephants and rhinoceros-
es to carry the imagination back to the cir
cumstances and surroundings of a previous,
though still more ancient, era. 1t may, per
haps, be taken as evidence of the u~nfitneSs OF
such survivalS for modem times, that the only
inhabitants of the Reptile House which seem
to invite unqualified dislike and dis
gust are the crocodiles and alligators which
swarm in the large oval tank i'll the centre.
1t seems at first somewhat strange that orea-
lures, many Of which are Of q strength and
tsrocity almost equal to that of the largest
carnivora, can be kept in safety within the
slight barrier formed by the incurved railing
which surrounds the pool but the natural
strength of the..alligator ia only equalled by its
sluggiRhness, and the hideous beasts are
content to doze and feed all day in the warm
and steaming water. The art of crocodile
culture is now fairly understood, and when
the baby "hasilisk' is transferred from the
co2l depths of the watering pot in which he
spends his infancy, in the nurseries behind
the snakes quarters, to the tropical temporal
turs of the tSnk, it thrives apaoe. The mon
ster alligator, which now measures some ten
feet in length, came from the Mississippi
when about twelve months old, some nine
years ago. Hide0us, huge and hide bou I'd IN
armour of horn, it swings round like an enor-
NOUS eft, and as it lies Just beneath the sur-
face of the water shows, more clearly than
amy book can picture, the curious adaptation
to surroundings of tho carnivorous water
lizard. The eyes on their raised orbits are
set like dormer windows in The head. The
nostlils are two tiny Sits in a raised boss at
The end OF the nose apparently the sluggish
beast is a quick ~breather, for the resplrations
are at the rate Of twentyeight per minute, or
nearly double that Of a man at rest. Another
alligator has been IN the collection for
twenty two years, but does not yet equal
the size OF the later conner, owing 1T is said, to
the early days spent in th3 cold and oramp-
sd quarters provided before the building OF
the new house. 1t is, however, a formidable
creature, and as it sprawls on its stomach
across the big tree stump in the centre, with
lis ugly wobbed cltws..danGlng on either side,
IT'S mouth partly open, and its tail dropping
IN the water, its appearance - suthclently
repulsive to deter the IN lst we'll meaning
visitor from Offering the cl4ritAble bun.
CrocodiIes from the Nile, India. and Ceylon
share the waters with the alligltors.T The croco-
die evidently bears the same analogy to the
alligator as the frog to tho toal. 1t is lighter
in color aud in build. aud Il move active, as
well as a more malicious creature. Neither
Is it SO entirely hjdeous, though the lower j1w
shows projecting tusk4 like those Of a wild
boar. The creatures eyes, celebrated IN
connection with the crocodile toars," with
which legend declared that i; A,traote Its
sympathising victims to tho INK Of the
stream, are highly decorative" If not boautl-
fui. The head marrow and fiat, TossmblrsIths
bead of a snake; the nose is sharp. and the Tx
tdmotionless eyes are of the paIe~t dusty gold,
eet in a sho' t horny pillar of a deeper golden
brown. The crocodiles coat of armour is less
complete than that Of the.aIliGalor: and its
Qnick vivacjous movements make 1t far more
troublesome to the Keepers when the tank
haN to lie retilled and oleansed, then the big
alliSators, which will allow themselves to be
used az stepping stones, as the water Gibbs
away. The crocodiles and their kin exhaust
The st Of noxious lizards at The Zoo, with
one curious exception. The Heloderin, a fat
and torpid lizard from Arizona, is supposed to
be the sole existing member Of its tribe,
which possesses not only the poison glands
which exist in most of the toadS, but also the
true poison teeth; with a channel for the
emission of the venom. This lizard is about
lift. long, with a fat, Aeshy body, 8 round
tail ending in a blunt point and q
fiat head with squared sides, resem-
bling a small paddock. The whole