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SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVII. No. 422 



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The Threatened Abandonment of the National Zoological 

 Gardens. 



A LITTLE over a year ago it was the source of the very greatest 

 gratification to American science that the bill before Congress 

 had passed, and a liberal initial appropriation had been made to 

 establish a national zoological garden at the seat of the general 

 government at Washington. Outside of strictly scientific circles, 

 thousands upon thousands of earnest sympathizers all over the 

 country likewise rejoiced in the success of the movement. The 

 great mass of intelligent and cultured people of this nation felt a 

 secret satisfaction when the broad project took on shape and be- 

 came a living fact. Thoughtful men, wise and far-reaching 

 minds, felt it to be one of the best indices of our national growth, 

 culture, and civilization; for we well know that the nations of the 

 world most distinguished for such characters invariably support 

 such institutions, as they do, indeed, great libraries, galleries of 

 art, and the museums. 



To-day it is with deep concern that the intelligent well-wishers 

 — and their name is legion in America — regard the miserable 

 wrangle that is now being enacted in Congress over this entire 

 matter, — an ill-directed debate, that, as it proceeds, daily en- 

 hances the danger of defeating the entire measure, undoing all 

 the good that has been done. Nor is this feeling of concern con- 

 fined to this country ; for science the world over deplores the 

 present state of affairs just as much as we do, for there is a broad 

 freemasonry among those who have at heart the progress of learn- 

 ing, the aims of general education, and the advancement of any 

 step that promotes a truer civilization. 



But, upon my word, I am almost constrained to believe some- 

 times that the personnel of this government of ours really believes 

 that we have arrived at such a high pitch of civilization in the 

 United States that we are above all such matters: in fact, we are 

 living in an atmosphere far above such questions as the mainte- 

 nance of public libraries, zoological gardens, national universities, 

 or museums. 



Viewed from this point, it is a delightful thing to contemplate 

 the marvellous rapidity with which our present-day civihzationis 

 advancing. To touch upon a few practical points in the question 



now under consideration, the writer is moved to say, and I believe 

 I voice the opinions of many other scientists beside myself, that 

 the greatest praise was due to Mr. W. H. Hornaday and Senator 

 Beck for their unflagging energy in carrying through Congress 

 the bill to establish our National Zoological Gardens; that the 

 people of the District of Columbia, and of Washington in particu- 

 lar, lent their most hearty aid in the premises, as would any other 

 honest and patriotic American city in the same place, and now it 

 is an outrage to expect her to support any part of what purports 

 to be a purely national enterprise ; that the Rock Creek Park is 

 one thing, and the National Zoological Garden is another ; that, as 

 highly important as an astro-physical laboratory is, and notwith- 

 standing the evident demand for such an institution, it surely has 

 nothing to do with a zoological garden, any more than the moon 

 has to do with the beard on the chin of a buffalo; that the time 

 has most assuredly arrived for this country to establish, support, 

 and maintain a complete, extensive, and properly conducted 

 national zodlogical gardens at the seat of her general govern- 

 ment, — gardens that can at least rival those of Regent's Park 

 in London, or the superb ones maintained at Amsterdam; and 

 assuredly nothing less, or none at all. My views upon the 

 conduction of such establishments, together with their aims 

 and uses, have already been published in The Popular Science 

 Monthly oi New York (April, 1889), and those views were very 

 fully republished in The Evening Star of Washington, D.O.: so 

 it is quite unnecessary to touch upon that part of the subject again 

 in the present connection. R. W. Shufeldt. 



Takoma, B.C., Feb, 26. 



A Water-Beetle. 



Lately I kept for a few days for inspection that very beautiful 

 insect a water- beetle. The specimen was lai-ge and splendidly 

 colored, gold-banded, and displaying brilliant iris hues on its legs. 

 I placed it in a glass jar of water. On the surface of the water 

 some leaves were laid. On one side of the jar, at the bottom, was 

 pasted a square of paper, and to the shelter of this the beetle 

 often retired. It seemed to take the greatest delight in darting, 

 swimming, and diving, rising from the bottom of the jar to the 

 top of the water by long, vigorous strokes of its hind legs. Then 

 joining its second pair of legs before it, like a swimmer's hands, 

 and stretching the hind pair out nearly together, it would dive to 

 the bottom. It slept hanging head downward under the leaves, 

 with the tip of the body above the water to secure air. 



It showed the pleasure of a child in " blowing bubbles." Rising 

 to the surface, it would put the tip of its body above the water, 

 part the elytra, and take in air; then, closing its case, it would 

 dive to the bottom, stand on its head, emit the air-bubble by 

 bubble until it was exhausted, and come up for a new supply. It 

 seemed to need the daily renewal of the water in the jar. When 

 it was hungry, ot* the water was not fresh enough, it became dull 

 and sulky, and hid behind the paper. After the beetle had fasted 

 twenty-four hours, I laid on the top of the water a wasp, a mos- 

 quito, a blue-bottle fly, and a common fly, all dead. The beetle, 

 being at the bottom of the jar, did not seem to see or smell these 

 insects. Rising presently, he came up against the mosquito, seized 

 the body in his jaws, and sucked it dry with one pull. He then 

 found the blue-bottle, carried it down to the shelter of the paper, 

 trussed it neatly, cutting off the wings, legs, and head, and letting 

 them float to the surface. He then held the body in his hands, or 

 short front-feet, pressed to his jaws, and sucked it dry. After 

 this he rose to the surface, found the other fly, and served it in 

 the same fashion. Next he found the wasp, a large one. Carry- 

 ing this below, as he had the flies, he clipped off the wings and 

 legs, but took the precaution to suck the head and thorax before 

 turning them adrift. He also grasped the body in his hands, 

 pressed the part that had been cut from the thorax to his mouth, 

 and, holding it exactly as if drinking out of a bottle, he drained it 

 dry. 



I found that he could eat all the time, except when he was 

 asleep or playing, and his activity was in propo^'tion to the quan- 

 tity of his food. Cooked meat he would none of. Raw beef he 

 did not greatly like, but raw veal he prized even above wasps and 



