170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1958 
Because of the ever-increasing demand for information concerning 
the care of animals in captivity, a series of 11 mimeographed leaflets 
has been written covering the care and feeding of the various animal 
families, ranging from invertebrates to primates. The leaflets are 
used to supplement correspondence and telephone inquiries on pet 
care and have proved successful in providing better service to the 
public. 
The Associate Director gave five 4-hour sessions of training to six 
senior Boy and Girl Scouts. These youngsters are now qualified to 
guide troops of younger Scouts when they visit the Zoo. 
The Director spoke before 6 civic clubs, 2 school groups, and 5 church 
groups; he also appeared on a television program and was interviewed 
cnaradio program. He wascoauthor, with Dr. Samuel W. Thompson, 
of “Toxoplasmosis in a Swamp Wallaby,” published in the Journal of 
the American Veterinary Medical Association, December 15, 1957. 
Malcolm Davis, associate head keeper, spoke before four civic clubs 
on “Penguins and Antarctica” and also showed slides to a school group. 
He has contributed articles and book reviews to All-Pets Magazine, 
the Audubon Magazine, the American Racing Pigeon News, the 
Aviculturist’s Gazette, the Sentinel, and the Journal of Mammalogy. 
A group of rocky islands off Budd Coast, Antarctica, has been named 
Davis Islets in recognition of a biological survey made there by Mr. 
Davis in 1948 when he went to the South Pole with the U.S. Navy 
Expedition. 
Mario DePrato made a collecting trip in the Dismal Swamp, Va., 
bringing back a number of interesting reptiles for the Zoo. William A. 
Xanten, Jr., a keeper in the reptile house, contributed a number of 
snakes and turtles obtained while he was on vacation in Florida. 
William Widman, senior keeper in the birdhouse, spent 2 weeks in 
the Philadelphia Zoological Park, studying methods practiced there; 
and Bernard Gallagher, keeper in the small-mammals division, spent 
a week of official time in the Detroit Zoo, working and observing. 
Ordinarily the Zoo does not conduct guided tours of the Park, but 
exceptions were made for groups of physically handicapped children 
who visited the Zoo. One group was from the District of Columbia 
Health School, whose children were brought by the Kiwanis Club, 
and another from the Silver Spring Intermediate School. Six chil- 
dren from the Pre-School! for the Blind, Alexandria, Va., were brought 
by the Lions Club and were allowed to feel small animals and harmless 
reptiles. ‘The District of Columbia Society for Crippled Children 
brought a group of 30. In all cases police and keepers were assigned 
to assist in showing the young students the exhibits. 
Conducted tours were also given to a group of 211 biology students 
and 6 faculty members of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Lynch- 
