ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 787 



which time, it is stated, no further accidents of the kind have 

 occurred/' 



Very often, when birds are kept in cramped quarters, they can 

 not be induced to show off any of their peculiar habits, much less 

 take to breeding. This was well seen in the case of the herons a 

 year or so ago in the London gardens ; for, as soon as these birds 

 were transferred from their limited confines to the large new 

 aviary constructed for them, and inclosing natural waters, trees, 

 and shrubs, they resumed at once some of their more natural 

 habits, while the ibises built in the trees and reared their young. 

 Some mammals and birds bear confinement in narrow habitations 

 better than others ; and one can easily imagine that a sloth would 

 tolerate a curtailment of his liberties far better than many species 

 of monkeys would do, or some varieties of parrots than the free- 

 dom-loving sea-fowl. 



At the Bishop's Gardens in Havana, Cuba, I remember very 

 well a large aviary, in which were confined a considerable num- 

 ber of wild ducks, sea-gulls, and similar birds, and it was a delight 

 to wateli them, as they appeared to be fully as contented as in 

 their native wilds, and would sport in the inclosed sheet of water, 

 or preen themselves on the rocks, all day long. Then, some creat- 

 ures bear being continually looked at better than others, while 

 some have such highly nervous organizations that they should be 

 placed only in the more secluded nooks of the garden, and even 

 then have the means of withdrawing from the public gaze for at 

 least a time. As owls never outgrow their fondness for a hollow 

 stump, bears their climbing-poles, parrots their swing-boughs, 

 and musk-rats their marsh-ways, we should make every endeavor 

 to bring all our ingenuity to our aid in imitating as closely as 

 possible in the gardens their natural conditions. The writer has 

 during his lifetime kept a great many animals in confinement, of 

 all manner of varieties, from a pocket gopher to an eagle, and 

 from a ring-tailed howler-monkey to a turkey-buzzard, and has 

 learned that, notwithstanding the creature may be abundantly 

 supplied with his proper food, you can kill a star-nosed mole if 

 you do not give him the opportunity to burrow in moist, wet 

 ground ; or render a porcupine utterly miserable if you do not 

 serve him with the stump of an old tree, some ten feet above the 

 ground, to stretch himself out upon. 



Experience has taught us that the best way of exhibiting al- 

 most all kinds of reptiles, from the largest varieties of snakes and 

 pythons down to the most diminutive species of lizards and hylas, 

 is in that style of cage wherein the front and sides are formed of 

 large single panes of clear glass. This allows an excellent view 

 of the inmates, and full opportunity to watch and study their 

 habits. On the other hand, the alligators, as representatives of 



