Chapter ALLEJA to ALLIGATOR-PEAR of A by The Hobson Jobson Dictionary

and nature are just the crocodiles of the Nile.”—Barros, I. iii. 8.

1568.—“In this River we killed a monstrous Lagarto, or Crocodile … he was 23 foote by the rule, headed like a hogge. .…”—Iob Hortop, in Hakl. iii. 580.

1579.—“We found here many good commodities..... besides alagartoes, munckeyes, and the like.”—Drake, World Encompassed, Hak. Soc. 112.

1591.—“In this place I have seen very great water aligartos (which we call in English crocodiles), seven yards long.”— Master Antonie Knivet, in Purchas, iv. 1228. 1593.—“In this River (of Guayaquill) and all the Rivers of this Coast, are great abundance of Alagartoes.… persons of credit have certified to me that as small fishes in other Rivers abound in scoales, so the Alagartoes in this.....”—Sir Richard Hawkins, in Purchas, iv. 1400.

c. 1593.—

“And in his needy shop a tortoise hung,
An alligator stuff’d, and other skins
Of ill-shaped fishes…”—

Romeo & Juliet, v. 1.

1595.—“Vpon this river there were great store of fowle..... but for lagartos it exceeded, for there were thousands of those vgly serpents; and the people called it for the abundance of them, the riuer of Lagartos in their language.”—Raleigh, The Discoverie of Guiana, in Hakl. iv. 137.

1596.—“Once he would needs defend a rat to be animal rationale.… because she eate and gnawd his bookes.… And the more to confirme it, because everie one laught at him.… the next rat he seaz’d on hee made an anatomie of, and read a lecture of 3 dayes long upon everie artire or musckle, and after hanged her over his head in his studie in stead of an apothecarie’s crocodile or dride Alligatur.”—T. Nashe’s ‘Have with you to Saffron Walden.’ Repr. in J. Payne Collier’s Misc. Tracts, p.72.

1610.—“These Blackes … told me the River was full of Aligatas, and if I saw any I must fight with him, else he would kill me.”—D. Midleton, in Purchas, i. 244.

1613.—“.… mais avante.… por distancia de 2 legoas, esta o fermoso ryo de Cassam de lagarthos o crocodillos.”—Godinho de Eredia, 10.

1673.—“The River was full of Aligators or Crocodiles, which lay basking in the Sun in the Mud on the River’s side.”—Fryer, 55.

1727.—“I was cleaning a vessel.… and had Stages fitted for my People to stand on.… and we were plagued with five or six Allegators, which wanted to be on the Stage.”—A. Hamilton, ii. 133.

1761.—
“.… else that sea-like Stream
(Whence Traffic pours her bounties on mankind)
Dread Alligators would alone possess.”

Grainger, Bk. ii.

1881.—“The Hooghly alone has never been so full of sharks and alligators as now. We have it on undoubted authority that within the past two months over a hundred people have fallen victims to these brutes.”—Pioneer Mail, July 10th.

ALLIGATOR-PEAR, s. The fruit of the Laurus persea, Lin., Persea gratissima, Gaertn. The name as here given is an extravagant, and that of avocato or avogato a more moderate, corruption of aguacate or ahuacatl (see below), which appears to have been the native name in Central America, still surviving there. The Quichua name is palta, which is used as well as aguacaté by Cieza de Leon, and also by Joseph de Acosta. Grainger (Sugarcane, Bk. I.) calls it “rich sabbaca,” which he says is “the Indian name of the avocato, avocado, avigato, or as the English corruptly call it, alligator pear. The Spaniards in S. America call it Aguacate, and under that name it is described by Ulloa.” In French it is called avocat. The praise which Grainger, as quoted below, “liberally bestows” on this fruit, is, if we might judge from the specimens occasionally met with in India, absurd. With liberal pepper and salt there may be a remote suggestion of marrow: but that is all. Indeed it is hardly a fruit in the ordinary sense. Its common sea name of ‘midshipman’s butter’ [or ‘subaltern’s butter’] is suggestive of its merits, or demerits.

Though common and naturalised throughout the W. Indies and E. coasts of tropical S. America, its actual native country is unknown. Its introduction into the Eastern world is comparatively recent; not older than the middle of 18th century. Had it been worth eating it would have come long before.

1532–50.—“There are other fruits belonging to the country, such as fragrant pines and plantains, many excellent guavas, caymitos, aguacates, and other fruits.”—Cieza de Leon, 16.

1608.—“The Palta is a great tree, and carries a faire leafe, which hath a fruite like to great peares; within it hath a great stone,