PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 7 



rings, to which I alluded last year, continues, and more than 

 5,000 were marked last season. Another new mammal of 

 large size is recorded from Africa under the name of water- 

 elephant, and is doubtless the same as an animal mentioned 

 in 1894 as occurring in the Congo Free State. Though no 

 specimen has actually been procured, it appears to be well 

 known to the natives, and has been seen by at least one 

 European. It is smaller than an elephant, probably about 

 6 feet high, with smaller trunk, shorter ears, and longer neck, 

 and is believed to have no tusks. The description, as far as 

 it goes, corresponds in many respects to that of Palceomastodon 

 from the Lower Tertiary of the Fayum, Egypt. In spite of 

 reports to the contrary, I believe that no living okapis have 

 yet been taken, so that it may be some time before this rare 

 animal is seen at the Zoo. It is satisfactory to be able to 

 note a distinct increase in the number of bison in America in 

 the last two years, from 1,917 in 1908 to 2,108 in 1910. These 

 animals are all preserved in various parks and enclosures. 

 The increase of wild cats in Scotland which is taking place is, 

 perhaps, a doubtful benefit. 



BOTANY. 



The President of the Botanical Section of the British 

 Association deals chiefly with the literature of British botany, 

 and I have not been able to find much of novelty in this branch 

 of science in the past 12 months. One of his remarks, which 

 I would urge upon our members, is as follows : " It is 

 especially on behalf of the work in the field that I now wish 

 to plead. There are few paths more likely to prove attractive 

 to most students." This I can endorse, but I think that the 

 tendency of the day on the part of most people is to believe 

 the most absurd statements because they see them in some 

 book or newspaper and to distrust what they observe for 

 themselves amongst the living plants or animals One would 

 have supposed that all this education now-a-days would have 



