Show 0 THE ANCIENT CROCODILE CROCO-DILE AT HOME At a songster the crocodile It not to be compared to the bulbul but began without any exertion hold hit own In that respect with the bull IIke the Utter he bellow but unlike him he bellow at night whereat the bull only bellows dating the day except when lie It badly scared With thee exception there It nothing In commin between the crocodile and either the bulbul or the ferocious bull There It no dell title Information to be obtained regnrd Ing the exact lines upon which the tint crocodile was built It It maintained by thou who have devoted a lifetime Ins study ol hit Interior that the traces ol a diaphragm which are to be found In him today how that hit organliatlon mutt have at one time borne tome resemblance re-semblance to that ot warmblooded animal Where the other traces that I added to thrust which remain would have made a complete diaphragm have gone nobody know The act that he possesses sockets for hit teeth and hat n fourchambered hearths by ome coin tldered evidence against him In lids reo tpect Hut whether or not the crocodile was once a wand blooded animal It It only necessary to come In contact with htm once to perceive that he It a cold blooded reptile and no friend ol mm There I little In the animal kingdom that ran look to dead and be to much alive at a crockodlle The number ol unsuspecting persons who have ml taken him furs log and have failed to II dt discover their mistake until It was too I late lobe of any benefit to them will never be known In anclenttlmet eral yean prior to the llrlllth occupation occupa-tion of Egypt tome ot the people ol hat counlryworihlprd the crocodile at a god there being nothing else like him They ted him on dainties and togged him out with Jewelry In other parti ot Egypt however the natives looked upon up-on him at a devil Having no firctrmi they did not flit him with lead but they managed to Immolate him luceeitfulfy with inch weapons at were fathlonahle lit the time The crocodile Knot I to mi inerout In the Nile at he was In the day of the Rametet family tin fact he rather shuns the river now below the Second Cataract on account ol the an nojrancei Inseparable from lourltt traffic It seems Impossible for a tourtit to tee a crockodlle without trying to plug him with a revolver and to a reptile that It fond ol a quiet life ibis tort of thing It I tlmply Insufferable lie will not molt a man IInlell he can take him at a dlt advantage ando long A man doe not unthinkingly step on him the crocodile will go hit own way and calmly calm-ly await lilt opportunity lie feeds on Id but lor a course dinner he would rather have humanity black preferred which shows there It no accounting for taste even among rcplllet HltmethoJ nf capturing large game are plural at well at singular Sometime he will lie on a river bank partly covered with sand or mud until an absenl minded native wanders within reach Having grabbed hit prey he will waddle Into the water and there drown the struggler He will then drag hit victim ashore and bury him In und or mud and wait fur days before he gorge hlmtelf Hit favorite plan of providing food for hlmielf In the water It to dele hit head and tall and float with the current cur-rent While performing tins act he looks like an old 1 blackened log Though he It I perfectly hippy on land and rend much ol hit time there he can stay under water a long I time and kill while under water without Buffering any Inconvenience In-convenience On this account It maybe may-be assumed that bin breathing ipparatut It 1 not arranged like that of a man It It not for hit nostrils open Into the pharynx Instead of the mouth and the apriture can he closed at will with a valve The crocodile It 1 lavlihly provided pro-vided with valves and lids lie hat lid for hit eyes and 1 hit ears and hit nostrils It It I not necessary for him to boat that he can sleep with one eye open became he can do to lletore lie was to well known at he now It I It was supposed that he wai iinflnlthed wllh a tongue This was simply due to reticence on hit part lie did not nor don he even keep It between Iris berth That would not iitltfy him 10 he keeps It close In the under aide of his mouth lilt teeth are numerous and shop and strong aid are arranged In a tingle row In each Jaw There are several generatloni of teeth enclosed within each other and at one lakes lit departure another occu plea Id place No crocodile hat been known to suffer either from the common com-mon variety of toothache or the more aristocratic form of neuralgia Thli It t due tome think to his avoidance ol sweets and alcoholic drinks though It It but right to lay that this opinion It not general among iclentliti There three famlllet of the reptile the gavial the true crocodile and the alligator alli-gator If however a man while enjoying en-joying a quiet iwlm were to meet a member ol either ol thee fimlllei lace to face the chance are that he would be unable to say on the spur of the moment to which family the reptile belonged Personally I would under such clr cumitancci dislike to meet a crocodile at much ai an alligator or a taurlan jut as much ai A caiman or a gavial There are times when difference are merged Into distinction and when the latter are not apparent to the naked tye There U I not much In a name 19 far a tints particular reptile Is l oneernt I and practically there U no mote ars solace In being mingled by an alligator In I Noah Amcilea than by t rJmin In I South or Central America by a crocodile croco-dile In Africa or a gavial In A linra 1 taurlan anywhere The co hlng nor by the reptile It I the tame no mater In what country he It found It cml > ol numerout square bony pae These form a complete dorsal ti t Mi that In spot will turn a bullet lord other channel There It no rouri h ment lo be found on the armour of the crocodile yet It It generally occupied by several brigade ol insects and one mull bird Tilli ol course It only when the reptile li I basking on the shore Kelt to fond ot burying himself In mud tit a productive character dust the Insects find upon nit bACk all they are In Immediate need ol The bird m I warts the Insect lie It a crateful bird for the moment he eel an enemy to hit friend he nukes a commotion that at once attracts the latter attention The crocodile It at once alive to the iteration II there It lime to make hit escape he don to at In spite ol hit teeth and till and Iron hide he It a canard II there It not time to get away he pl tritium trit-ium and he doc It well No crocodile can Hand llckllng II he It tickled where hit lumpy llnbt Join hit body While he can handle himell wills rate and dexterity In the water lilt movement on land are devoid of grace lilt legs are unable to hear hit welght 10 that he It I compelled In a great measure to drag hit body on the ground Ily an Interposition nl Irntl thence hit neck li to ttlfl that II you are itapdlng along tide of mini amidships and he wants to look you straight In Ihe I eye he li compelled to turn hit whole body This gives a nervous person time to take to the wood If there are any When he lashes out with hit tall It cnn talus quite at many element ol danger at an intoxicated lawn I mower Some natlveiof Africa contlder the fleili of the tall a delicacy No white mm hat ever been able to wallow a hit ol crocodile croc-odile and keep It down The flavor It several degrees more overpowering than A ten year old egg The crocodile can work his lower Jaw which cnablei him to yawn with great freedom and to bite off more than he can awallow at a ill Ile gulp The female never maket the mlitake ot laying her egg In the water She lava them on the liver bank coven them partially with any light material that It I handy and lets the sun do the ret When hitched the young are taken to the water She feeds them on the principle adopted by the femile cormorant and to thlt the kid offer no objection being without expcrlenci The father crocodile pay no attention lo hli children unless he can catch them alone when he maket a meal of them lie never attempt to do an > thlnll 01 this tort however when the mother It In the vicinity The crocodile croco-dile hat no objection to regular abut a-but In the dry season he bullet himself In Ihe mud and goes to sleep alien the manner ol the bear In winter In this way he will lomctlmei go without fond for year Upon waking from n nap ol this duration he It tomcthlng to be avoided II nothing happens to Inter fete with hit growth and he comet ol a robust family a crocodile will mtature eighteen fret In length upon reaching maturity Kxcepl for how purpocel and In the shape III traveling bogs the I crocodile li of little benefit to man fall Mall Gazelle |