256



Mr. D. Seth-Smith,



NOTES ON MY VISIT TO AUSTRALIA.


By David Seth-Smith, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


(■Continued from page 214).


Having completed arrangements with the Melbourne Zoo.

for obtaining by exchange a number of animals from that Insti¬

tution, and having secured permission from the Victorian

Government to employ catchers, and made arrangements with

them to get birds for me, I was anxious to push on to Sydney.


A journey of some seventeen hours by rail brought me to

the metropolis of New South Wales. Comfortable sleeping-cars

are provided on these trains, but the railways, in one particular

at least, are behind those of the younger state of Western

Australia in that dining-cars are not provided. Dinner-time

having arrived, the train pulls up at a station ; there is a rush of

passengers to the dining-room on the platform, where a limited

number of waitresses are ready to serve a host of hungry travel¬

lers, eacli one of whom wishes to be attended to first, in order

that he may be able to satisfy his appetite before the bell rings

and the return rush to the train commences.


As we approached the New South Wales Capital a wonder¬

ful change in the aspect of the country presented itself, for the

drought from which Victoria was suffering had not been ex¬

perienced here, and the country was beautifully green.


Three out of the four Zoological Gardens of Australia are

managed by one of the brothers Le Souef, and on arrival in

Sydney Mr. Sherbourne Le Souef, the Secretary of the N.S.W.

Zoological Society, very kindly met me and we proceeded to his

Zoo., which is situated in Moore Park, close to the famous cricket

ground. The gardens are small, only about fifteen acres in

area, and the stock kept is limited ; Australian animals, with the

exception of a fairly good collection of Kangaroos, being almost

absent. The larger Carnivora do very well here and breed freely,

though I understand that the stock has dwindled somewhat of

late. Three half-grown Tiger-cubs, which were not doing par¬

ticularly well in their dens, were put out on collar and chain, and

the change seemed to suit them well, for they became so strong

that every now and then one would break his chain and com-



