pla © 
REVIEW. 256 
vile, in order to minister to our curiosity and instruction. It is our bounden 
duty not only to supply them with food and shelter, but also to see that they 
are provided with proper accommodation for comfort ; that they get the diet 
which Nature has appointed for them, or, where that is difficult to procure, 
the nearest approach to it possible, and that they have ample space for exer- 
cise, and abundant air. The more complete the arrangements for their 
comfort, the roomier and airier the place in which they are confined, the more 
they are placed amidst surroundings resembling those of their native wilder- 
nesses, the happier and healthier they will be, the longer they will live, and 
the greater will be the amount of the amusement and instruction to be derived 
from inspecting them and observing their habits and instincts, 
Since the gardens were established, the Managing Committee of the institu- 
tion have not only tried, as far as lay in their power and their financial 
resources allowed, to discharge the duties above mentioned, but have also 
attempted to carry out the objects set forth in the original prospectus with 
more or less success. They have adopted and introduced the latest improve- 
ments in menagerie-architecture, in order that the animals under their charge 
may have commodious quarters, have called in the aid of medical science to 
cure them of the ills that brute-flesh is heir to, and, as far as practicable, 
have placed them amidst surroundings resembling those of their native haunts, 
During the period of seventeen years during which the Calcutta Zoological 
Gardens have been in existence, the Committee of Management has acquired 
a great deal of experience in managing, in health and sickness, the various 
animals, both indigenous and exotic, that have, from time to time, been exhi- 
bited. The work under review embodies this experience, and sets forth the 
methods by which dumb creatures in captivity should be treated in health and 
sickness, and the best ways of providing them with comfortable accommoda- 
tion and with the most suitable diet. The idea of writing the present work 
was suggested by His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, in his Reso- 
jution on the Report of the Honorary Committee for the Management of the 
Calcutta Zoological Gardens for the year 1888-89, published in the Calcutta 
Gazeite of the 9th October, 1889, wherein he gave expression to the following 
opinion : “As the Zoological Gardens have now been in existence for 13 years 
(since 1875-76), it is presumable that many events have taken place among 
the large number of animals, birds, etc., exhibited from time to time, which 
would be of interest to the scientific world and to persons interested in 
zoology ; also, that considerable experience must have been gained in the 
management of animals, birds, etc., in confinement, and their treatment in 
sickness which would be of practical use to the managing bodies of other 
zoological gardens and to individuals who have private collections, Sir 
Steuart Bayley is strongly of opinion that it is incumbent on all persons who 
keep animals in captivity to avoid, as far as possible, anything like cruelty 
(such as want of space or air, proper food, or cleanliness) in their treatment, 
