The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-10-03
Raise Alligators on Farm

| in alcohol alligator skins, skulls and
eggs. and the Snowman will pause
| there if you wish and give you bret
| lecture on the habits of alligators.
One look at the skull assures you
! that the alligator must use his Jaws
more than his brain. The skull is praC-
tically all jaw, the brain space beng
| no bigger than a thimble. The teeth
are large and most efficient in appear
ance. The lecturer says that when one
| DECAYS new one pushes it out and
takes its place (the only really pain
less dentistry in the world, so the
happy alligator always has complete
set of so perfect teeth and no dentist
bills
The egg is the size Of ducks egg,
though narrower and longer, and the
average number in a setting is about
thirty. The nests vary much in size
and form, some looking like an acct
dental pile of dead vegetation and 9th
ers being large and compact and con-
ical. When the eggs are laid the nest
is covered over and this keeps the
temperature pretty even. Eggs expos
ed to the great range OF temperature
OF a swamp would probably be de-
stroyed. 1t is believed that the heat
and moisture produced by the decay
ing vegetation of the nest is what
matches the eggs. For some hours pre-
vious to the Matching the young ALI
gators make a curious squeaklng
sound inside the shell, probably for
the purpose of attracting the attention
of the female alligator, who will open
the nest in time for the newly hatched
little ones to make their escape.
At this special farm the gators
really seem to know their names when
the owner calls. Here, Adam; here,
Old Boyr he shouted, leaning over
the edge of the pen to prove this, and
when an old brute of beast delib-
erate1y crawled out of the crowd and
came a running" little fapper gasp
ed, How sweet" The secret Of this,
though, is simply patience and gentle
ness. After long training they get to
know that when their names are called
it means food. for there is always a
piece of meat for them then.
1t is interesting to hear how these
farmers obtain the alligators for
their farms. There are men whose
business it is to supply them. The al
VI
the lakes and rivers, more than 10
feet deep. The hunter digs in as far
as he can, then takes his pole, which
into the hole The animal, if he is
there, bites the hook every time and
! holds on to it. and then the men pull
| him out AS soon as they get his head
out, one man jumps on to it to hold
it, and the other ties the jaw. The
opening power OF the jaw is very weak
but the crushing power is terrific. The
alligator is then drawn out farther I'M
til his front legs can be tied, little
farther and the hind legs are tied, and
finally the tail which is able to strike
powerful blows, is strapped to a board
or a pole.
One day a negro came to an alliga-
tor farm and asked the farmer how
much he would pay for three-foOt
alligator. The man told him $500.
! The negro went out and returned with
| the gator i'll a bag, but seemed in a
great hurry to get his money and get
away; wanted to catch the next troll
ley, he said. When the new owner
Iopened the bag the alligator was over
| five feet long, so he gave him his mon
ey and he fed. But when the animal
was finally taken from the sack it was
discovered that it was three-foot al
| ligator, as the darby had said-three
feet was all it had. "One foot short
instead OF three feet long" the new
owner says when he tells the tale.
There are three months when the
alligators are hibernating that they
eat nothing at all, but the rest Of the
time they must be fed twice a week.
But when you consider the tourists
passing through who oay their quar-
! tiers to see these ANIMALS frst-hand,
they more than pay lvr their keep.