The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-15
uArCHIxG QUEER ANIMALS.
PropaEatinE AiiiEators and CrocO-
diIes by Article for Market.
rrom the washington Star.

ffIes by Artluce for Market.
From the Washington Star.
The attention Of the United States fish
omission has been called recently 10
.sW and remarkable industry. namely.
-,4 artificial propagation.of alligators. For
s.,glving the trade in Florida curIosi-
els there is a large demand for young
entities Of this kind In jacksonville,
witch is the. center. of the trafic. from $500
I'D 1000 ailigators are sold to tourists an
ua1uy-neafiy all Of them baby ones. The
ls-tsr are collected IN considerable num-
f.rs Is professional hunters. who receive
Tor them from so TO SIS a. hundred. some
Of them are disposed of alive at retail,
hit many are stuffed. An infant alligator
stuffed is worth . cents more than q live
one Saurians. six TO twelve feet long.
fetch 81 10 SIS.
The DIFFICULTY Of securing young alliga-
t5-s in sufficient numbers has led to the
ENLISTMENT OF the strange business de-
sarlbed. To md the nests Of these reptiles
IS comparatively easy, and the eggs are
shipped In fbulk by the hunters to Jackson
Vile. In that city there are twelve deal
ers n alligators, the best known of them
being q man who has earned the sObriquet
4
originated. the incubator system, which is
simple enough. The eggs, about the size
OF goose eggs, are placed in boxes of sand
and covered W. The boxes are exposed
on a roof to the tOrrid rays of semi
tropical sun. and in a few days the lizards
are Matched. They are six inches or so in
length when they make their first ap-
rearance in the world, Some OF them are
killed and stuffed as soon as they see day
light.
A species of true crocodile is found in
Southern Florida on both coasts. 1t is hard
" distinguishable from the alligator ex-
cept by the shape of its head, though it
grows bigger, attaining a length of eight
cen feet. DR.. Hugh NJ. Smith of the fish
commission says that young crocodiles are
Matched for market in the same fashion.
The mother crocodile lays her eggs in sand
like a turtle, and simply covers them over.
Somewhat different is the practice of the
maternal alligator, who, in April or May
seeks a sheltered spot on d bank and there
builds a small mound. The foundation of
the mound is Of mud and grass, and on
this she lays some eggs. She covers the
eggs with another stratum Of grass and
mud. upon which she deposits some more
eggs. Thus she proceeds until she has
laid from 100 to 200 eggs.
The eggs, in the course of time, are
Matched by the sun, assisted by the heat
which the decomposition of the vegetable
material generates. AS soon as they have
Clipped the she'll" the baby alligators
are led to the water by the mother, who
provides them with food which she dis
gOrges, showing much anxiety for their
safety. At this early period of their eX-
istence they are exposed to many dangers
being favorite prey of fishes and turtles.
Alligators' eggs, by the way, are some
times eaten by the Florida crackers. The
robbing Of the nests for market is helping
TO hasten the inevitable destruction of the
alligator fishery. which has been an i'm
portant and profitable industry in Florida
Facts recently gathered by the fish COM
mission show that the reptiles cannot long
escape practical determination. Already
they are becoming scarce, and the price
of hides has gone up. e
1t is estimated thai p,5OOQqOs alligators
were killed in Florida between 1880 and
1894 In 1889 three firms locatedl at kis-
simmee for the purpose of buying skins
taken in the region between Lake Kissim-
NEE and Lake Okeechobee, handled $4,000
hides. During the,same year twelve hunt
ers brought to Fort Pierce 1000 pelts. Two
firms in Jacksonville handled $1,000 skins
in 1880. A few years ago an expert hunter
could easily secure 600 alligators in three
weeks, and one man at Cocoa killed forty
two in one night. The skins are paid for
in provisions and ammunition mainly.
Dealers get IS cents apiece for them from
tanners in New York.
IN 1871 ABOUT z9O pounus OF dlhSdtor
teeth were sold, hunters receiving from
81 to 81 a pound for them, They are re-
moved by burying the heads and rotting
out the teeth. OF the best teeth about
seventy make a pound. The stufing of al
hgators and the polishing of the teeth
give employment to forty persons. Unforr-
unately, alligators grow very slowly, At
fifteen years of age they are only two
feet long. A twelve-footer may be sup
posed reasonably to be seVenty-fiVe years
old 1t is believed that they grow as long
as they live, and probably they live long
er than any other animals.