448 MR, A. TREVOR-BATXYE ON SOME CONSTRUCTIONAL [May 7, 



and particularly from its possession of well-formed conical tusks 

 which I judged to be about eight inches in length, the animal was 

 evidently not a baby, and yet it was not more than about four 

 feet high at the shoulder. It was dark in colour ; its ears were 

 very much smaller relatively than those of any African Elephant 

 I knew, and had an unfamiliar outline ; finally, the tip of the 

 trunk showed a peculiarity new to me. 



Since returning to London, I find that Prof. Th. Noack 

 described under the name Elephas africaoius 2>utnilio (Zool. Anz. 

 xxix. p. 631) a young African Elephant from the French Congo, 

 then in the possession of Mr. Carl Hagenbeck, but shortly to be 

 sent to America, I have no doubt that this is the same individual, 

 and I have little to add to the points by which Dr, Noack 

 distinguished it from the cyclotis of Matschie, except to point out 

 that cyclotis was described as light in colour, whereas this form 

 has a veiy dark skin. This dwarf African Elephant, however, 

 difiers from any African Elephant that I have seen, and approaches 

 the condition in the Indian Elephant, in a point which Dr, Noack 

 did not mention. The tip of the trunk of the Indian Elephant, 

 by which it can pick up objects, consists of a long finger-shaped, 

 median dorsal process which fits over a much shorter and thicker 

 lower lip with a median groove, making it almost bi-lobed. In 

 every African Elephant that I have hitherto seen, the dorsal 

 and ventral lips of the trunk are rounded, ti-iangular processes, 

 similar in shape and practically equal in size and thickness. In 

 the New York example of E. africanus pu7)iilio, however, the 

 lower lip is relatively shorter than in the normal African 

 condition, although it is not gi"ooved in the middle line as in the 

 Indian form, whilst the upper lip is a relatively slender, almost 

 finger-shaped process, much longer than the lower lip. I hope 

 that those who have opportunities of observing the formation of 

 the tip of the trunk in the different phases of the African 

 Elephant, will pay attention to this point. 



Mr, A. Trevor-Battye, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z,S,, read notes on some 

 constructional features in Continental Zoological Gardens, 



These notes were the outcome of recent visits paid by the writer 

 to the Gardens of Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Budapest, 

 Munich, Frankfort-am-Main, Cologne, Diisseldorf, Amsterdam, 

 Rotterdam, and Antwerp. They dealt with the improvements 

 upon former methods made in the case of new cages, buildings 

 and enclosures. The Gardens of Berlin, Breslau, Vienna, and 

 Rotterdam were stated to be especially deserving of a careful 

 visit. 



A tendency to get rid, so far as possible, of bars and wiring was 

 noticeable. At Stellingen, as was well known, most of the animals 

 were confined in " natural " fastnesses ; while at Antwerp even the 

 Girafies were separated from their visitors only by enormous 

 sheets of plate glass. 



