The alligator and its allies . in the middle of the day, when the surround-ing air was, perhaps, fifty degrees (Fahrenheit)warmer than it was just before sunrise, the insideof the same nest felt quite cool. It is probable,then, that the conditions of temperatrue andmoisture in the center of the nest are quite lot of eggs that had been sent from Florida toMaryland continued to incubate in an apparentlynormal way when packed in a box of damp saw-dust, the temperature of which was about 80 de-grees Fahrenheit. Another lot of eggs continuedto incubate, until several young alligators we
The alligator and its allies . in the middle of the day, when the surround-ing air was, perhaps, fifty degrees (Fahrenheit)warmer than it was just before sunrise, the insideof the same nest felt quite cool. It is probable,then, that the conditions of temperatrue andmoisture in the center of the nest are quite lot of eggs that had been sent from Florida toMaryland continued to incubate in an apparentlynormal way when packed in a box of damp saw-dust, the temperature of which was about 80 de-grees Fahrenheit. Another lot of eggs continuedto incubate, until several young alligators werehatched, in the ordinary incubator, at a tempera-ture of about 95 degrees Fahrenheit.^ The fact that eggs taken directly from the ovi-ducts of the cold-blooded alligator contain embryosof considerable size seems to indicate that no suchelevation of temperature as is necessary with avianeggs is necessary with the eggs of the alligator. Reese, A. M., Artificial Incubation of Alligator Eggs, , March, 1901, pp. Fig. 8. A Typical Alligators Nest, ^Iade Chiefly of Grass. The guide is feeling for eggs without disturbing the outside of the nest. Beinmade of the same material as the background, the nest does not stand out versharph% though in nature the contrast is somewhat more marked, owing to thfact that the surrounding grass is green while the grass of which the nest is bis dead and brown. (From a Photograph by the Author.) The Biology of the Crocodiha 25 The complete process of incubation probablyextends through a period of about eight weeks,but no accurate observations along this line couldbe made. For some hours previous to hatchingthe young alligators make a curious squeakingsound inside the shell, that may be heard for adistance of several yards: this sound may be forthe purpose of attracting the attention of the femalealligator, who will open the top of the nest in timeto allow the just hatched alligators to escape: unlessthus rescued, it would seem imposs
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