29 MAY 1920, Page 16

CROCODILES.

(To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR ,—I noticed in your edition of May 1st that Mr. Somers Clarke, in writing of the Nile crocodile, asks the question, "Do crocodiles travel to the sea ? " I have heard that crocodiles have been seen close to Damietta, but cannot verify this state- ment. I can, however, vouch for the crocodile (crocodilia) travelling to the sea in Northern Queensland and the Gulf of Carpentaria. On one occasion I came across a crocodile between the Bernard Islands and the Great Barrier Reef; it must have been at least six miles from land. It is a common occurrence to see crocodiles on the beaches at the mouths of the Johnson, Russell, and Herbert Rivers, which are all tidal waters. The Norman River, which runs into the Gulf of Carpentaria, is also thickly infested. I have never heard of the gavials being found in anything but fresh water. I have on several occasions come across batches of crocodile eggs in the grass on the banks of rivers some distance from water. I could recount incidents of crocodiles being found in fishing-nets in Cleveland and Halifax Bays, on the North-East coast of Queens-