11 



important objects of their appointment. The Committee 

 turned their attention in the first place to the necessity of 

 providing more airy and convenient lodgings for the Carni- 

 vora, which, as one of the most attractive portions of the Col- 

 lection to general visitors as well as on account of the health 

 of the animals themselves, required better accommodation 

 than the Council had been heretofore able to afford them. 

 After minutely considering the question in all its various 

 bearings, the Committee came to the resolution that these 

 important objects would both be materially promoted by the 

 adoption of open instead of closed dens for the accommoda- 

 tion of the Carnivora, and a report to that effect was presented 

 to and adopted by the Council on the 29th of June, accom- 

 panied by a plan for carrying out these views by continuing 

 the present Terrace-walk on arches with ranges of cages un- 

 derneath for the accommodation of the animals. The Council 

 conceive themselves justified in entertaining confident hopes 

 of success from the new plan of treatment which they are now 

 about to adopt for the first time towards the Carnivora ; and 

 they venture to hope that the arrangement which they have de- 

 cided on, as combining ornament with utility, will meet with 

 the approbation of the Society at large. The whole building 

 will extend for about 150 feet from the bears' pit on a line with 

 the present Terrace, the walk of which will be continued over 

 its roof, with an ornamental balustrade on each side and a 

 descent by a flight of stone steps at the further extremity. 

 Underneath this Terrace, on each side, will be a range of six 

 cages, each 24 feet long and capable of division into compart- 

 ments of 12 or 6 feet each, with a sleeping den of 6 feet square 

 for each 12-foot cage, properly ventilated, but at the same 

 time carefully contrived to exclude cold and retain the natural 

 heat. Artificial heat will be entirely dispensed with, and the 

 only further protection contemplated is an awning to shield 

 the animals from the direct rays of the sun in summer or 

 from storms or rain in winter. The contractors are bound to 

 complete the building by the 10th of June, and the animals 

 will be removed into it as soon as it is considered sufficiently 

 dry for their reception. 



No other works of consequence are at present in progress 

 connected with the Garden Department ; but the important 



