Show THE ANCIENT CROCODILE AT HOME As a songster the crocodile Is not to oe ae compared to the bulbul but he can without any exertion hold his own in that tha respect with tile the bull like the 11 ll latter he bello bellow wc but unlike hi him in he bellows at night whereas the bull only bellows during the day except when he is i badly scared with these exceptions there is nothing in common between the crocodile and either the bulbul or the ferocious bull there is no definite information to be obtained regnard ing the exact lines upon which the first crocodile was built it is maintained by those who have devoted a lifetime to a study of his interior that the traces of a diaphragm which are to be found in him today show that his organization must have at one time borne some resemblance to that of warm blooded animals where rethe the other traces that added to those which remain would have made a complete diaphragm have gon nobody knows the tact fact that he possesses sockets for his teeth and has a four chambered heart Is by some con evidence against him in this respect but whether or not the crocodile was once a warm blooded animal it is only necessary to come in contact with him once to perceive that he 14 1 a cold blooded reptile and no friend oi of man there is little in the animal kingdo that can look so eo dead and be so much five alive as a crock odile the number of unsuspecting persons who have mistaken him for a log and have failed to discover their mistake until etwas it was too late to lobe be of any benefit to them will never be known in ancient times sev eral years prior to the british occupation of egypt some ot of the people of hat country worshiped the crocodile not a it a god there being nothing else like him they fed him on dainties and logged him out with jewelry in other parts of egypt however the natives looked upon him as a devil having no firearms they did not fill him with lead but they managed to immolate him successfully with such weapons as were fashionable at the time the crocodile is not so n numerous u in the nile as lie he was in the days of the rameses family in tact fact he rather shuns the river now below the second cataract Citar acton act on account ot ahe an noy ancell cei inseparable lne Inte parable from tourist traffic it seems impossible for a tourist to see a crock odile without trying to plug him with a revolver and to a reptile that Is fond of a quiet life this sort of thing is simply insufferable he will not molest a man unless he can take him at a diet die advantage and so long as a man does not unthinkingly step on him the crocodile will go his own way and calmly await his opportunity he feeds on fich but for a course dinner he would rather have humanity black preferred which shows there is no accounting tor for taste even among reptiles his methods of capturing large game are plural as well as singular sometimes he will lie on a river bank partly covered with sand or mud until an absentminded absent minded native wanders within reach hiving having grabbed his prey he will waddle into the water and there drown the struggler he will then drag his victim ashore and bury him in sand or oi mud and wait for days before he gorges himself his hi favorite plan of providing food for himself in the water Is 16 to depress his hii head and tall tail and float boat with the current while performing this act he looks like an old blackened log though he Is perfectly happy on land and spends much of his time there he can stay under water a long time and kill while under water without suffering any inconvenience on this account irmay it may be assumed that his breathing apparatus is not arranged like that of a man iran it Is not for his nostril t open into the pharynx instead of the mouth ind and the aperture ape iture ture can be closed at will with a valve the crocodile Is 1 lavishly provided with valves and lids lie he has lids for his eyes cyrs and his ears and his nostrils it it is riot dot necessary for him to boast that he can sleep with one eye open because he can do so before he was so well known as lie he now is it was supposed that he was unfinished with a tongue this was simply due to reticence on oni his h part lie ile did not nor does doe he be even keep it between hit hire teeth that tha would not satisfy hint him so he keeps it close to the under side of his mouth ills teeth are numerous and nd sharp and strong and aad are arr arranged arged in a single row in each jaw aw there are arc generations of teeth enclosed within each ot other herand and as one takes its departure another mccu pi les eow h its s p place lac e N no 0 cr crocodile 0 co d ile has been n n t to 0 s buffer u affer e ei ich her e r fr from 0 m the common variety ot of toothache or the more aristocratic form of neuralgia thin i 1 due some bome think to his avoidance ot of sweets and alcoholic drinks though it ir Is s but right to say that this opinion Is 1 not lot gen general eral among scientists there three families of the reptile the gavial abial the true crocodile and the amator gator if however a man while enjoying a quiet swim were to meet a member of either of these families face ace to face the chances are that he would woud be unable to say on the spur ot of the mor moment nent to which family the reptile belonged longed ic personally I 1 would under such cir dislike to meet a crocodile ns as much as an alligator or a saurian just as much is at a caiman or a gavial gallal there are times when differences are merged into distinction 4 and when the latter are arc not apparent to the joked eye there 1 I not much in a name so far as this particular reptile Is concerned and practically there is no more advantage in being mangled by an alligator in north america than by a caiman lr fr south or central america by a crocodile in africa or a gavial in asia or it a saurian anywhere the clothing by the reptile is the same no matter irr ire what country he Is found it con consists of numer numerous u square bony plates plate these form a complete dorsal shield thief in spots will vill turn a bullet into other channels there Is no nourishment to be found on the armour of tile the crocodile yet it is generally occupied by several brigades of insects and one small bird this of course is only when the reptile is basking on the shore ile he is so go fond ot of but burning ing himself irr madof mud of a productive character that the insects find upon mr bick back all they arcin immediate needom the bird wants the insects ile he is a grateful bird for the moment he sees an enemy to his friend he makes a commotion thatah that at once attracts the batters lat attention the crocodile is at once alive to the occasion occar iori if there is time to make his escape he does so as in spite of his teeth slid and till tail and iron hide he Is a coward it there is not time to get av away ay he plays play possum and he does it well nell no crocodile can stand tickling 1 IS he h is tickled where ill his stumpy limbs join his body while he can handle handle himself with ease and dexterity in the water liis his movements on land are devold devoid of grace ills his legs are unable to bear hill hi weight so that he is compelled in n great measure to drag his body on the ground by an interposition of providence his neck is so stiff that it if 3 ou arc standing along side of him bin oo and he wants to look you straight in the eye he is compelled to turn his whole hole body thil gives a nervous person time to take to the woods if there are any when he lashes out with his tail it cor cone talus bains quite as mimy many elements element of danger asan as an intoxicated lawn mower some natives of africa consider the flesh of the till tail a delicacy no white man mail ha ever been able to swallow a bit of crocodile and keep it down the flavor i seve several ral degrees more overpowering th him ln a teu ten year old egg the crocodile care work his lower jaw which enables him to yawn with great freedom and to biter bite oil off more than he can swallow at a gare ingle gulp the female never re makes iRles the mistake of laying her eggs in the ua er she lays them on the river bank covers them partially with any light mater mate riat that Is handy and lets the sun do the rest when hatched the young are taken to the water she feeds them on the principle adopted by the female cormorant and to this the kids oder no objection being without experience the father crocodile pa a no attention to his children unless he can catch them alone when he makes a meal ol of them he never attempts to do anything of this sort however when the mother is in the vicinity the crocodile has no objection to regular meal but in the dry season he buries himself in the mud and goes to sleep after the manner of the bear in winter in this way he will sometimes go without food fora for a year upon waking irom from a capot nap of this duration he is something to ber be avoided jf if nothing happens to inter fere with hit his growth and he comes of a robust family it a crocodile will measure eighteen feet in length upon reaching maturity except for show purposes ees band and in the shape of traveling bugs bags the crocodile Is of little benefit to man I 1 pall mall gazette gazelle |