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CROCODILES, ETC.-1. Skeleton of turtle. 2. Land-turtle. 3. Swamp-turtle. 4. Snapping-turtle. ton of crocodile. 10. Manis or scaly lizard. 11. Nile Crocodile.

12. Profile of crocodil

16. Hedge-lizard.

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5. Fringed tortoise. 6. Biting-turtle (Trionyx ferox). 7. Caouana. 8. Leathery-turtle. 9. Skele 15. Egyptian-lizard 14. Skull of gavial, from above. de's skull. 13. The same, from above.

CROCK'ETS, in Gothic architecture, are projecting leaves, flowers, or bunches of foliage, used to decorate the angles of spires, canopies, pinnacles, etc. The varieties of C. are innumerable, almost every kind of leaf and flower being copied for the purpose. C. only appear in pyramidal and curved lines, never in horizontal ones.

CROCKETT, a co. in w. Tennessee formed since 1870. It is in a cotton-growing region. The Memphis and Ohio railroad passes through. Co. seat, Alamo. Pop. '80, 14, 108. CROCKETT: co., Tex. See page 896.

CROCKETT, DAVID, 1786-1836; a native of Ky., famous for eccentricities. He was a good specimen of the unlearned backwoodsman, was a great hunter, and possessed a rare fund of humor, mingled with common sense. He served under Jackson in the war against the Creek Indians. In 1827, and twice afterwards, he was elected to congress, where his oddities of dress and address made much sensation. But refined civilization was irksome to him, and he was among the first of Americans to strike for the independence of Texas. He was one of the defenders of the Alamo, where, with half a dozen others, he was butchered by Santa Anna after the surrender. Crockett's well-known axiom was: "Be sure you are right, then go ahead!"

CROCODILE, Crocodilus, a genus of saurian reptiles, the type of the family crocodil ide; which some naturalists have erected into a distinct order of reptiles (loricata), on account of the square bony plates with whica their bodies are covered, instead of the scales of the other saurians-the greater solidity of the skull-the lungs not descending into the abdomen-and the approach which they make to mammalia and birds in the structure of the heart. The heart has two auricles and two ventricles; but a mixture of arterial and venous blood takes place at some distance from the heart, so that the hinder part of the body receives an imperfectly aërated blood, which, however, is supposed to be further aerated in the surface of the peritoneum, two curious openings admitting the water, in which these animals ordinarily live, into the internal cavity of the abdomen. The crocodilida may be described as lizard-like in form, with a great gape,, indicative of their characteristic voracity, and with the tail flattened at the sides, so as to become a powerful organ of propulsion in water. The fore-feet have five toes, the hind-feet four, the three inner ones only being armed with claws: the feet are more or less webbed. Each jaw has a single row of numerous large teeth, which are conical and directed backwards; planted in distinct sockets, and becoming hollowed at the base, to admit the crowns of the new and larger teeth which are to succeed them as the animal increases in size. Small ribs are attached to the vertebræ of the neck, which give it a peculiar stiffness, and make it difficult for the animal to turn; and persons pursued by crocodiles may therefore make their escape by rapid turning. The eggs of the crocodilide are hard, and small in comparison with the size ultimately attained by the animal itself. The females of some, if not of all the species, guard their eggs, and take care of their young; although the eggs, buried in the sand or mud, are hatched by the heat of the sun alone. The crocodilide swallow stones, apparently to assist digestion They prey on fishes and warm-blooded animals; most of them seem to prefer food in a state of incipient putrefaction, and they are even said to hide their prey, and to return to it when it has reached this state. Some of the larger kinds do not scruple to attack man. All the crocodilida are large reptiles; they are found in fresh waters and estuaries in the warm parts of the world; none are found in Europe, nor, as far as is yet known, in Australia. They are divided into gavials, crocodiles, and alligators (the latter including caymans).-The true crocodiles are found both in the old world and the new. The muzzle is not slender and elongated, as in the gavials, but oblong and flattened; the teeth are very unequal in size, the long fourth teeth of the lower jaw fitting into notches of the upper, not into pits, as in alligators. To this genus belongs the C. of the Nile (C. vulgaris), which abounds also in many other rivers of Africa. It is of a bronzed green color, speckled with brown, lighter beneath, and is sometimes 30 ft. long. It often seizes human beings for its prey. In Park's Travels, an instance is recorded of a negro, one of his guides, who was thus seized in the Gambia, and escaped by thrusting his fingers into the crocodile's eyes. The ancient Egyptians held it sacred, and being exempted from all danger on the part of man, it became more bold and troublesome. The individuals particularly selected as the objects of idolatrous worship were tamed, and took part in religious processions. Souchis was the name of the deified individual, the C. god.-The DOUBLE-CRESTED or INDIAN C. (C. biporcatus), is very abundant in many parts of Asia, in rivers and estuaries, and is also dangerous to man. The smaller marsh C. (C. palustris), abundant in stagnant waters in the same regions, flees from man, and often seeks to hide itself in the mud, into which it thrusts at least its snout, then remaining contented, as if in perfect safety. Crocodiles often bury themselves in the mud in droughts, and so abide till rain falls.-The names C. and alligator are often indiscriminately used in popular language. See preceding illus.

CRO CUS, a genus of plants of the natural order iridacea. The species have much general similarity, and are natives chiefly of the s. of Europe and of the east. Several have been described as British, but are rather naturalized than native. Saffron (q.v.) is the produce of C. sativus. Some of the species are much cultivated in gardens for the beauty of their flowers, particularly those which, as C. vernus and C. luteus, flower very early in spring. The saffron C. and some other species flower in autumn. The flowers

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