24 Garden of Plants and 
va la giraffe?” hurt his consequence. He is to be found every 
Sunday evening at one of the Guinguettes in the neighbour- 
hood, dancing with all his might, and during the week he 
devotes his leisure to the acquirement of reading and writing. 
The two elephants are much grown, and with the Asiatic 
they do not seem to make much progress; but the African is 
become very interesting; she performs various salutations and 
manceuvres, obeys the voice of her keeper, kneels down to 
take him on her back, and seldom requires any other chastise- 
ment than a pull of one of her ears, which are very much 
larger than those of her Indian brother. 
Two very beautiful aviaries have been completed since my 
last visit to the Jardin, The one is appropriated to birds 
of prey, and contains some noble specimens of owls, eagles, 
and vultures: among the latter is the great condor of the 
Andes (Vultur Gryphus), which requires double the space 
allotted to any of the others. The second aviary contains 
many rare species of pheasants and other birds, and both of 
them have not only covered places for shelter, and stoves for 
heating them, but a large space covered with iron network, in 
which the thousands who weekly crowd to see them can watch 
their movements without the least difficulty. Near these are 
the parks appropriated to peacocks, domestic fowls, &c., and 
in which the crown and Numidian cranes, and the secretary 
bird, stalk about and dance at sunset, as if under their native 
skies. ‘The various kinds of deer, the chamois, and other 
goats, are in high health; the beavers are thriving, as well as 
all the known species of lama. I was astonished at the fury 
with which these mild-looking animals fight; and on one 
occasion having caused them to be separated, I was much 
amused at the rage with which they pushed their noses 
through the railings, till they touched, though their attempts 
to bite were fruitless, 
Without actual study, it would be difficult to ascertain the 
additions made of late years to the collection of comparative 
anatomy. Several rooms have been added since my first 
acquaintance with it, in 1819, and it is yearly receiving new 
treasures from travellers, or the efforts of Baron Cuvier, who 
may be said to have created this part of the establishment. 
The upper portion, containing the preparations in spirits, &c., 
separated bones, skulls, teeth, and the skeletons of the smaller 
animals, seems to be crowded ; and the skeletons of the whales 
below, among the larger objects, excited my astonishment, that 
the whole Parisian world should have run mad after Ja ba- 
leine des Pays Bas, when those of the Jardin du Roi are 
nearly as large, and much more interesting, from the whale- 
