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 



