In 1891 about forty people, in addition to the regular dealers, were engaged, in the United States, in stuffing alligators, polishing teeth, etc. The teeth are extracted by burying the head until decomposition sets in. The tiny alligators that are most commonly sold to tourists, to be brought North, perhaps, and allowed to freeze or starve to death, may either be caught by a wire noose at the end of a fishing rod, or they may be hatched from eggs that are taken from the nests shortly before they are ready to hatch. Such eggs may readily be hatched by simply keeping them moist and at a fairly constant temperature, as has been previously noted. Besides the above uses Ditmars says: “The eggs are eaten in many portions of the South, and the search for eggs at the proper season furnishes profitable employment for many persons, as each nest contains a large number of eggs.” [Illustration: BROAD-NOSED CAIMAN. (_Caiman latirostris._) Distribution: Tropical South America. Attains a length of about seven feet. (After Ditmars.) (Reproduced by Permission of Sturgis & Walton Co.)] [Illustration: FIG. 10. SPECTACLED CAIMAN. (_Caiman sclerops._) Tropical America. The length of an adult is about eight feet. (After Ditmars.) (Reproduced by Permission of Sturgis & Walton Co.)] Never having eaten an alligator egg I cannot speak from personal experience of its flavor; but it has always seemed strange to me that more use is not made of the flesh of the alligator. This flesh is often said to have too strong a flavor to be palatable; I have eaten it when it had no such rank taste but was decidedly agreeable, being, as might perhaps be expected of so amphibious an animal, somewhat like both fish and flesh, yet not exactly like either. Perhaps greater care should be taken in skinning an animal that is to be used for food in order that the flesh be not tainted with the musk. It may be a lack of care in preparation that has given rise to the impression that alligator meat is too strong to be pleasant. It is perhaps, also, the “idea” of eating a reptile that makes the meat unpopular. A half-grown boy, who was once in the swamps with me, had expressed a great aversion to alligator meat, so the guide, one day, offered him a nicely fried piece of alligator meat, saying it was fish; the meat was eaten with evident relish and the diner was not told until after a second piece had disappeared what he had been eating. It always seemed strange to me that the poor people of the South should not more often vary the monotony of fat pork and corn bread with alligator steaks. Whether the meat could be smoked or salted so that it would keep in a hot climate I do not know; I am not aware of any experiments along this line. THE CHINESE ALLIGATOR