46 MOSTLY MAMMALS 



liberty in the domain ! A small herd is now in a thriving 

 condition in the open park at Woburn Abbey. Reference 

 has already been made to the eland, which may now be 

 said to be thoroughly acclimatised in several French parks. 

 There it apparently thrives without any winter shelter ; but 

 it would seem that this is an absolute necessity in England. 

 All the above-named species of deer and antelopes have 

 flesh of excellent quality; but for the most part, at any 

 rate, their introduction into European parks must be re- 

 garded as a luxury, or for the sake of the sport they might 

 afford, rather than as a commercial experiment. 



The African sing-sing water-buck is likewise an antelope 

 which appears to take kindly to wild life in Europe. It 

 has bred for many successive years in Paris, and likewise 

 flourishes in the park at Woburn. Other species of ante- 

 lopes, as well as gazelles, might be mentioned, which there 

 is good reason to believe would thrive in Europe; and it 

 may be added that among the deer the Siberian roe, which 

 is a much larger and finer animal than its European relative, 

 is already established in the Bedfordshire woods. 



Both the American and the European bison would almost 

 certainly thrive in the parks of Western Europe, if the number 

 of individuals introduced at first starting were sufficiently 

 large ; and herds of the former animal are now flourishing 

 both in Bedfordshire and Northumberland. But the fierce 

 disposition of these huge animals will almost certainly be a 

 bar to their general introduction, in spite of the circumstance 

 that " buffalo-robes " have a high commercial value. 



Finally, as regards kangaroos and wallabies, numerous 

 experiments have demonstrated that these animals, under 

 certain conditions, are admirably adapted to thrive in most 

 parts of Europe. By reason of their strange form and 

 bizarre postures, they make attractive objects in a park, 



