between a bear and an alligator. He was called to the scene of the struggle by the noise made by the combatants in the dry cane, that yielded to their pressure as they fought in each other's embrace. Several times both ceased, only to recover breath and fresh energy; at length the alligator missed striking the foe with its tail, Bruin seized the opportunity, and with all his efforts succeeded in turning the amphibian on its back, where he held him for some minutes, at the same time gnawing one of its fore-shoulders. A final struggle of the now-worsted alligator hurled both into the water, where they disappeared, the disturbed surface telling of the dreadful contest that was being prolonged beneath; after the lapse of over a minute the bear came up, evidently much fatigued, and swam ashore, the sportsman forbearing to wound, or possibly kill, the gallant conqueror.

Crocodiles, it is said which have never eaten human flesh, are much less dangerous than those that have acquired a taste for it. Mr. Combes, of "Chinese" Gordon's expedition, states that he was assured by an inhabitant of Khartoum, who had reached the town with the Egyptian troopsthat is to say, before the horrors committed by the Desterdar, acting with Mehemet Bey, who had been Governor of the Soudan-that the crocodiles appeared to be quite indifferent to human flesh; but after the many executions by drowning ordered by Mehemit Bey, as he was told by a native whom he interrogated-" since the Nile has been loaded with the carcasses of my brethren, the monsters which inhabit it have become habituated to substantial food, which they scarcely knew before, so that afterwards those swimming in the river, or even bathing on its banks, were exposed to imminent danger."

Stabbed Under Water With a Dagger.

Natives of Africa shoot the crocodile, or attack it with a barbed javelin which is thrown by hand, and aimed at the fore-shoulder. Some Egyptians are reported to be daring enough to swim under the crocodile, and pierce him in the belly with a dagger. The negroes of Senegal are said to be equally expert. If they surprise the animals in parts of the river where there is not sufficient water for them to swim, they attack the monster with a lance, commencing the assault by aiming with their weapon at their enemy's eyes and throat; then thrusting their arm, encased in leather, into its mouth, they hold it open till their enemy is either suffocated or expires under its wounds. Traps are also employed successfully for their destruction. In Egypt the natives dig a deep hole in the ordinary route of the crocodile, which is easily discovered by the trail they leave in the sand-this is covered with branches and earth,

which falls in when trodden upon; the captive is then killed, often with the most brutal cruelty. At other times a thick cord is at ached to a tree, at the other end of which a lamb is held by a hook. The cries of the lamb attract the crocodile, which, in its attempt to carry off the bait, is taken.

Still another method for the destruction of these repulsive-looking creatures has been adopted by Englishmen in India. A dead animal is procured, in its abdomen is placed a loaded shell, to which is attached a

wire made fast to an electric battery; when the bait has been seized and carried to the bottom, the shell is exploded, and invariably maims or kills the crocodile.

The gavials have long narrow cylindrical muzzles, slightly inflated at the extremity; the teeth are almost the same, both in number and shape, on each jaw; the two first and the fourth of the lower jaw pass into notches or indentations in the upper jaw. The gavials are chiefly remarkable for their long head, its type being the gavials of the Ganges. It is of a deep watery green color, having on the upper part numerous irregular brown spots; in the young, the back and limbs are transversely banded with black; the lower part is of a pale whitish yellow; the jaws are marked with brown, the claws are of a clear horn color. This species is not so carnivorous as the others, and is consequently less dreaded. The gavial of the Ganges is supposed to be the largest of the existing saurians; its length, as given by one traveller, is seventeen feet four inches, although in reality this length is often exceeded.

The gavial of the Ganges has the jaws produced to an enormous length, forming a long, slender snout, at the extremity of which there is a large cartilaginous protuberance, in which the nostrils are situated. The teeth are very numerous, and nearly equal in size throughout the whole. of the jaws. It is web-footed to the extremities of the toes of the hind feet. This species is found abundantly in the fresh waters of India, where it sometimes attains a length of thirty feet. It is not dangerous to man nor the larger quadrupeds. It was known to the ancients, Ælian mentioning the existence of a crocodile in the Ganges which had a horn at the extremity of its nose. Though there are several marked varieties, there appears to be but one species.

The Flying Dragon.

At the present day we have no examples of reptiles which can really fly, though we have some which, like the flying squirrels, are able to sweep for some distance through the air. These animals are known by the popular name of the flying dragon, in consequence of their resemblance to the conventional dragon of fables. There are several species of them, all agreeing in form and general habits. The tail is very long, very slender, and tapers to a sharp point.

The structure by which these reptiles are enabled to pass through the air is very remarkable. As the reader may see by the engraving, the sides of the body are expanded like those of the flying squirrels, but the expansion is obtained in a different manner. In the flying squirrel, the skin of the sides is expanded with the membrane, which is opened by

stretching out the legs; but in the flying dragon the ribs are employed for the purpose.

The reader will distinguish the difference between the two kinds of ribs. There are the "true" ribs, which occupy the upper part of the chest, and which have their ends resting on the breast-bone; and the "false" ribs, which occupy the lower part of the chest, and which have their ends free. It is by means of the latter set of ribs that the expansion of the sides is managed.

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The false ribs, instead of being, as they usually are, much shorter than

the others, are generally lengthened, or, to be more accurate, they are furnished with very long and slender appendages. These additional bones are so joined to the ribs that they can be spread out laterally, or laid against the sides at the pleasure of the animal. When they are spread, they very much resemble the sticks of an opened fan, and as they are connected with each other by a membrane which is formed from the skin of the sides, they offer a very wide surface to the air.

The movements of the flying dragon are curiously like those of the flying squirrels of our own country, and the flying marsupials of Australasia; and indeed, if the flying dragon and the opossum mouse were

simultaneously to spring from one tree to another, their sweeping flight would have been almost identical, and it would not be easy to distinguish between the two animals.

There is another point in the structure of the flying dragon which has been thought to have some effect in increasing its buoyancy when in the air. In common with many arboreal lizards, it possesses a large pouch under the throat, which it is capable of inflating to a very great extent. When the lizard is preparing to launch itself into the air, it inflates this sac simultaneously with spreading its wings, if we may use this term to express its peculiarly constructed side. Many naturalists have thought that the principal object of this sac is to increase the buoyancy of the animal while in the air. It does probably have that effect, but buoyancy is not its chief object, for the reason that the inflatable pouch is found in many lizards which do not possess the expansible sides, nor the power of skimming through the air. The flying dragons are tolerably plentiful in Borneo, Java, and the Philippine Islands.

The Flying Frog.

Many readers must be familiar with the pretty tree frogs, which are now so plentiful in ferneries. Their habits are curiously contrary to those of the ordinary frogs, for they abandon both earth and water for the trees, and lead an arboreal, and not a terrestrial or aquatic life as do their fellows. In order to enable them to ascend trees, they are furnished with sucker-like appendages at the tips of their toes, and with these they can cling firmly to any smooth object, such as the trunk of a tree, the surface of a leaf or even a flat piece of glass.

In the last-mentioned case, it is interesting to examine with a magnifying lens the structure of the suckers as they are pressed against the glass, and to note how instantaneous is their action of exhausting or admitting the air at will. This structure, indeed, is absolutely necessary for the creature's existence. It lives upon insects, and if it were to depend for its subsistence upon those which come within its reach, it would stand a good chance of starving. But, aided by these marvelous developments of the feet, it is able to spring at a passing insect, to catch it, and to affix itself instantaneously to another branch. There are many species of tree frogs, spread over a large portion of the earth, but the most remarkable at present known is the flying frog of Borneo.

If the reader will refer to the accompanying illustration, he will see the flying frog shown in the act of passing through the air, its toes being widely spread, so as to stretch the membrane which connects them. In proportion to the size of the reptile, the extent of surface which can be