The proprietor of one of the largest alligator farms in the country says: “Our alligators stop eating the first week in October and do not begin to eat until the latter part of April. We have experimented with our stock to see if we could get them to eat in the winter, and found that by keeping the water in the tanks at a certain temperature they would eat, but we found out that the warm water would make their bowels move, and that they would not eat enough to keep themselves up, as in the summer, and as a result they would become very poor and thin, so we do not force them to eat any more.” The effect upon the growth of an animal of these two methods of feeding will be noted later when the age and rate of growth are discussed. The same writer says, in answer to a question about hibernation: “In their wild state they go into their dens under water and remain dormant all winter.” Whether this statement is the result of actual observation the writer is not able to say, but, judging by some other statements from the same source, it is probably from hearsay. The writer, having visited the alligator haunts only in late spring and summer, has had no opportunity of studying the habits of the animal in its natural habitat during the winter season. During the heat of summer the animal does not seek the sun as he is said to do during cooler weather, but spends more time on the bank at night and during the cooler parts of the day. That he sometimes wanders over dry land, perhaps going from hole to hole, is evident from the tracks that are sometimes seen crossing a dusty road or path. These trails are easily recognized by the clawed footprints with a line, made by the dragging tail, between them. Although most awkward on land, he can, if necessary, move very quickly. It is, however, in the water that he shows to best advantage; he is an active, powerful swimmer, his tail being used as a propeller as in the fishes. When swimming actively the legs are held close against the body in order that they may retard the animal’s motion as little as possible. While swimming in a leisurely way the top of the head is at the surface of the water, perhaps just the nostrils and eyes projecting above the surface, so that the size of the animal can be estimated by the distance between these projecting points. One afternoon the writer and a guide, while paddling along an old canal that was dug years ago into the Okefinokee Swamp, were preceded for perhaps half a mile by a large alligator that swam just fast enough to keep out of our reach until he came to the place where he wanted to turn off into the swamp.