5038 ‘THe ZooLocist—Aucust, 1876. 
figures 779 genera, always preferring to draw from living animals when- 
ever possible. Now, as at that period a larger number of aquarium animals 
had passed through his hands than through those of any other person, he 
may be presumed to have, up to then, seen more of them alive than anyone 
else. Yet he enumerates only 201 as having been drawn from life, as he 
avowedly preferred doing, and of these but a dozen were fishes, others 
being, for the most part, small creatures, or those which are easily main- 
tained, and do not need large tanks and elaborate machinery. But, during 
the twenty years which have elapsed since 1856, I have seen and handled, 
and had under my care, in England, France, and Germany; about 433 
species of British marine animals, of which 112 were fishes. 
“There are few things more trying to that great virtue—patience—than 
a large public aquarium, especially in its preparation, before it is ready for 
the reception of animals. It is to this lack of patience on the part of the 
directors of the Royal Westminster Aquarium, and to their absolute refusal 
to allow me to have proper engineering assistance during its construction, 
and to general mismanagement, that its present confused state, and its 
unsatisfactory condition in every way, is due. On this account I resigned _ 
my post of adviser to the Society, as I found it useless to advise when 
advice was recklessly disregarded. Aquarium work, being hydraulic engi- 
neering ona small scale, is essentially the work of an engineer, and not 
that of an architect, unless he is also an engineer and a mathematician. 
There is for aquaria a great and important future, both as regards their 
influence on science, and as pecuniary speculations, if indeed, as I much 
doubt, there can be any real severing of these two interests. Success, how- 
ever, must always be the result of a careful study and representation of 
what nature does, and of a strict avoidance of the recent heresies to which 
J have in this communication adverted.” 
My foregoing reference to Sir John Graham Dalyell reminds me 
that some little time ago there were published in the ‘ Zoologist’ 
some letters from Sir John’s sister to Mr. Lloyd. These letters are 
now being reproduced in facsimile. 
Joun 'T, CaRRINGTON, 
Crystal Palace Aquarium, 
July 20, 1876. 
Wild Cats: period of Gestation.—My old pair of wild cats have bred 
again this year, two healthy kittens being bern on Sunday morning, the 
21st of May. I mentioned in the ‘ Zoologist’ (S. 8. 4868) that the gestation 
was nearly—i. e., perhaps as much as ten hours less than—sixty-eight days ; 
and as this year the gestation was—to within an hour or two, at most—the 
same length, is it jumping at conclusions in too great a hurry to suppose — 
e 
