THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 179 



reptiles which had been very inconveniently lodged in the old 

 wooden building. They appealed to the crowds that visited 

 the house every day, and to the increased Garden receipts, as 

 proofs that the house was appreciated. 



The burrhel sheep yard — a circular enclosure with a rocky 

 elevation in the middle — was constructed in 1885. The shelters 

 covered with rockwork, simulating their natural haunts, were 

 well suited to the habits of these mountain sheep, which breed 

 regularly. Owing to the success of this method it has been 

 followed in making similar enclosures for Earbary sheep and 

 mouflon. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that the Continental 

 plan of one large enclosure, divided into yards, dominated by 

 a central "ruin" on broken ground, has not been adopted. 

 From a spectacular point of view, such combined yards are 

 very successful. Those in Dtisseldorf and Frankfort-on-the- 

 Main may be a little too much like set-scenes ; but the same 

 objection really lies against this method of exhibition, whether 

 on a small or large scale. Once get over the incongruity of a 

 stony outcrop from the London Clay of the Park, there is no 

 reason why it should not take the form of a miniature mountain 

 range, crowned with a picturesque ruin. There is a very good 

 example of this kind in the Rotterdam Garden, where chamois, 

 wild sheep and goats, and llamas are kept on the slopes of 

 an artificial mountain, from the crest of which there rises a 

 graceful tower.* 



In this year also the old reptile house was fitted up with 

 cages " suitable for the exhibition of the smaller Cats and 

 allied Carnivora." Consequently from this period dates the 

 name " Small Cats' House," by which the building was known 

 till 1904. By using the house in this way the Council were 

 enabled to realise, to some extent, a plan which had always 

 been considered desirable — the separation of carnivorous 

 animals from the rodents and other frugivorous mammals 

 hitherto kept together in the small mammals' house. 



* It may be suggested that English naturalists scarcely live up to their oppor- 

 tunities in the matter of visiting Continental Gardens. One may see a good deal, 

 even in a week-end. It is not difficult to get as far as Diisseldorf and Cologne, and 

 quite easy to see the Gardens at Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam between 

 Friday night and Monday morning. The Harwich route has many advantages, 

 and Rundreise tickets are not expensive. 



