REMINISCENCES OF ANDREW DOWNS. xi 



SECOND ORDINARY MEETING. 



City Council Chamber, Halifax, llth March, 1907. 

 THE PRESIDENT, MR. DOANE, in the chair. 



H. PIERS and J. B. MCCARTHY were appointed a committee to 

 prepare a suitable design for a seal for the Institute., and to have 

 the same engraved. 



In the absence of the author, MR. PIERS read the following 

 paper by GENERAL CAMPBELL HARDY : 



REMINISCENCES OF A NOVA SCOTIAN NATURALIST: ANDREW 

 DOWNS. By MAJOR-GENERAL CAMPBELL HARDY, R. A., 

 Dover, England. 



In days gone by, when the writer of this paper was quartered 

 at Halifax, N. S., then a great naval and military station of the 

 imperial government, there were two interesting spots which a 

 stranger generally visited first, namely the Old Point Woods and 

 Downs's Zoological Gardens at the head of the North West Arm. 

 The former are now enclosed and preserved in the area termed 

 Point Pleasant Park : the latter have vanished from the scene. It 

 is then the object of this paper to recall a picture of the past, to 

 speak of the remarkable man who lived at the head of the North 

 West Arm, and to describe his charming location, Walton- Cot- 

 tage.* 



A little stream runs in at the head of the North West Arm, and 

 following it up by the road which branches from the main road 

 from Halifax in the direction of the Dutch Village, a few hundred 

 yards brought us to Downs's gates. 



The cottage nestled in its prettily wooded grounds, with the 

 shores of the Arm in the background receding towards the blue 

 Atlantic. Here nature and cultivation were charmingly blended 

 together, and the wild birds from the hills behind loved to come in 

 and nest in perfect confidence in the owner's good will towards all 

 living creatures. For I will say this of Downs by way of introduc- 



*fhe ground* on which Downs's zoological gardens were situated are now the 

 property of the estate of the late John Doull, and Walton Cottage is at present the 

 residence of Dr. Arthur Doull. 



