Scientific Public Gardens. 655 



naturally dry, and, consequently, either on sand^ gravel, or some 

 description of rock. A clayey or loamy soil, or a soil of rich 

 black earth, though it may be thoroughly drained both by under 

 drains and channels on the surface, can yet never be rendered so 

 wholesome as a soil naturally dry ; because the clay, the loam, 

 or the rich vegetable earth, will retain the water longer than the 

 sand or the gravel. The water falls on the two latter soils as if 

 on a sieve, that is, to sink through it ; but on the three former 

 it falls as on a sponge, that is, to be greedily absorbed by it, and 

 to soak slowly through it, or be slowly evajiorated from it. The 

 general climate must, of course, depend on the country in which 

 the zoological garden is proposed to be placed ; but the local 

 climate may sometimes be a matter of choice. It should, if pos- 

 sible, be mild and dry, because that will not only be more favour- 

 able for the animals of the temperate regions bordering on the 

 tropics, but it will lessen the expense of warming the apartments 

 of the tropical animals during the winter season : for the same 

 reasons, the aspect should be warm, for which purpose the south- 

 east or the south will, in Britain, generally be found preferable ; 

 and the exposure should never be to the most violent winds of 

 the locality, but the contrary. 



The extent, the nature of the boundary fence, and the kind of 

 artificial shelter to the whole garden, may be passed over as likely 

 to be determined by local circumstances. The arrangement of 

 the garden is the most important object. Whether this ought to 

 be geographical, geological, or scientific, we are not at this mo- 

 ment prepared to state ; never having had the same occasion to 

 mature our ideas on this subject, that we have had respecting 

 every other description of scientific garden. Certain we are, 

 however, that the arrangement ought to be formed upon some 

 principle, otherwise the establishment can be only considered as 

 a fixed menagerie, or caravan of wild beasts on a large scale ; it 

 can have no pretensions to be considered as scientific. A geo- 

 graphical arrangement has this advantage, that all the buildings 

 which require to be heated during winter may be warmed from 

 the same source. A geological arrangement could not be dis- 

 played with much effect in a space of two or three acres, as the 

 principal feature in such an arrangement would be keeping the 

 aquatic animals in or near the water, the goats on rocks, the bur- 

 rowing animals in sand-hills, &c. A scientific arrangement is 

 practicable, though it would be attended with much more ex- 

 pense than a geographical one, as by it the tropical animals 

 would require in some cases to be placed among those of tem- 

 perate regions, or even of the frigid zone. Without determining 

 which arrangement is the best, we repeat our remark, that some 

 definite one ought to be adopted and maintained throughout the 

 establishment : our opinion is, that the geographical one is 



