138



Mr. D. Seth-Smith,



The first place I was anxious to see was the Melbourne

Zoo, and early in the afternoon I wended my way thither.


These Gardens are well situated at the north of the city.

A cable train takes one out to the gates of the Royal Park, from

which a horse-drawn tram runs to the gates of the Zoo. On my

way to this institution I was much struck by the number of the

common Indian Mynah, one of the introduced species which

Australia could well have done without. This, together with two

other undesirable species, namely the Starling and the House

Sparrow, are the common town birds of the Eastern States of the

Commonwealth. At present Western Australia is immune from

undesirable avian aliens ; may she long remain so.


The Zoological Gardens of Melbourne occupy about fifty

acres, and are the oldest Gardens of the kind in Australia, as

well as the richest, with an income of some ^5,000 per annum, of

which the Government contributes some .£3,000. The entrance

fee is sixpence 011 week-days and one penny on Sundays. Most

of the ordinary menagerie animals are kept here, but I was some¬

what disappointed at not seeing more of the rarer Australasian

fauna. Kangaroos are well represented, though the interesting

tree-climbing forms are represented by a single specimen of

lyUmholtz’s Tree Kangaroo only. Wombats, Tasmanian Devils,

Kangaroo Rats, and Echidnas were on view, and a single speci¬

men of the delightful Koala or “ Native Bear” occupied a com¬

partment of a large aviary. The Director told me that these

harmless and charming little animals are most difficult to keep in

•close confinement, but so long as they can have a large enclosure

and, most important of all, growing eucalyptus trees to climb in

and feed upon, they can be kept for a long time.


There is a large wire enclosure, divided into several com¬

partments, each perhaps some thirty feet in length by somewhat

less in breadth. One of these contained the Koala, the others

being occupied by birds, mostly pheasants of various species. In

one compartment is the Brush-turkeys’ mound, from which pro¬

bably by far the greatest number of young Brusli-turkeys that

have ever been reared in captivity have emerged. The Melbourne

authorities claim that their success is due to their having dis¬

covered the secret of the correct composition for the nest, a



