316 STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
ings gain an ascendency in its councils. All who live 
near the Regent’s Park, or who have the opportunity 
of enjoying the rational amusement to be found in 
the society's gardens, cannot do better than sub- 
scribe to its support. ‘The collection of living 
animals is always interesting; and no expense, as 
we have been informed, is spared to provide a con- 
stant succession of novelties to attract the public. 
“The largeness of its income,’ observes Professor 
Babbage, “is a fearful consideration,” but we have 
no desire to canvass its expenditure. We can only 
hope that a larger portion of these funds, in process 
of time, will be devoted to the prosecution and en- 
couragement of legitimate science than has yet been 
done: the volume of Transactions, just published, 
may be considered a pledge that such will be the 
case. With such enormous funds, and with a judi- 
cious combination of science and of amusement, 
this society might eventually rank among the first 
in this or any other country. 
(222.) The Surrey Zoological Gardens, although 
private property, are in no degree inferior to those 
in the Regent’s Park, at least in regard to the num- 
ber or variety of living animals. In this respect 
there is a sort of laudable rivalry between the two, 
very favourable to the gratification of the public. 
The Surrey possesses one advantage over its more 
aristocratic brother, highly important to the prac- 
tical naturalist, who may go here to study, draw, 
or describe any animal in the collection, without 
encountering the advanced guard of illiberality in 
the shape of petitions, councils, secretaries, rules, and 
regulations. He has only to mention his wishes to 
