44 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
needs. Of the cities enumerated, it is feared that some are seek- 
ing success without the light of experience, and without compre- 
hensive plans for the future. 
It is folly to found a zoological garden without a most carefully 
studied general plan. It is unbusinesslike to plan and execute 
costly permanent improvements without the closest study of what 
has been done elsewhere in zoological garden development, and 
without the constant direction of a specialist. No architect, 
however expert in general work, can, from his inner conscious- 
ness, plan and erect a lion house, a monkey house, an aviary, or 
even a deer barn that will be perfectly adapted to the wants of its 
inmates. It would be quite as wise to build and equip an obser- 
vatory without the co-operation of an astronomer as to ignore 
zoological garden experts and experience in the creation of a 
zoological garden. No matter what the line, money will always 
purchase expert advice, and if all American sources should fail, 
let it be borne in mind that there are specialists abroad, among 
them Carl Hagenbeck, of Hamburg, who are competent to ad- 
vise on all questions involved. 
The time was when nearly every feature of a zoological garden 
was an experiment, with perfection to be determined by trial. 
That situation exists no longer. There are now hundreds of 
fixed scientific facts to be learned by proper effort, which, when 
secured and utilized, mean two things of vital importance—econ- 
omy and success. Let those who are inclined to build blindly be- 
ware; for the pitfalls are many. The cost of experience, when 
extracted from the raw material, is always great. To those who 
would found successfully in this line, we offer, as a useful object 
lesson, the London Zoological Society and its Gardens. Between 
it and the zoological gardens of Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amster- 
dam, Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Frankfort, Cologne—it is im- 
possible to name all—each of which now rises before us like a 
beautiful vision, it is difficult to choose. One feature, however, 
strongly impels the choice of the London institution, and that is, 
its commanding importance in the scientific world. There are 
other societies whose gardens contain more costly buildings, and 
more extensive and beautiful grounds, but there are none which 
have finer or more extensive collections, none which have yielded 
a greater store of useful zoological knowledge. 
The reasons for this are by no means obscure. England is a 
