24 Garden of Plants and 



va la giraffe ? " hurt his consequence. He is to be found every 

 Sunday evening at one of the Guinguettes in the neighbour- 

 hood, dancing with all his might, and during the week he 

 devotes his leisure to the acquirement of reading and writing. 



The two elephants are much grown, and with the Asiatic 

 they do not seem to make much progress; but the African is 

 become very interesting ; she performs various salutations and 

 manoeuvres, obeys the voice of her keeper, kneels down to 

 take him on her back, and seldom requires any other chastise- 

 ment than a pull of one of her ears, which are very much 

 larger than those of her Indian brother. 



Two very beautiful aviaries have been completed since my 

 last visit to the Jardin. The one is appropriated to birds 

 of prey, and contains some noble specimens of owls, eagles, 

 and vultures: among the latter is the great condor of the 

 Andes (Fultur Gryphus), which requires double the space 

 allotted to any of the others. The second aviary contains 

 many rare species of pheasants and other birds, and both of 

 them have not only covered places for shelter, and stoves for 

 heating them, but a large space covered with iron network, in 

 which the thousands who weekly crowd to see them can watch 

 their movements without the least difficulty. Near these are 

 the parks appropriated to peacocks, domestic fowls, &c., and 

 in which the crown and Numidian cranes, and the secretary 

 bird, stalk about and dance at sunset, as if under their native 

 skies. The various kinds of deer, the chamois, and other 

 goats, are in high health ; the beavers are thriving, as well as 

 all the known species of lama. I was astonished at the fuiy 

 with which these mild-looking animals fight; and on one 

 occasion having caused them to be separated, I was much 

 amused at the rage with which they pushed their noses 

 through the railings, till they touched, though their attempts 

 to bite were fruitless. 



Without actual study, it would be difficult to ascertain the 

 additions made of late years to the collection of comparative 

 anatomy. Several rooms have been added since my first 

 acquaintance with it, in 1819, and it is yearly receiving new 

 treasures from travellers, or the effi^rts of Baron Cuvier, who 

 may be said to have created this part of the establishment. 

 The upper portion, containing the preparations in spirits, &c., 

 separated bones, skulls, teeth, and the skeletons of the smaller 

 animals, seems to be crowded ; and the skeletons of the whales 

 below, among the larger objects, excited my astonishment, that 

 the whole Parisian world should have run mad after la ha- 

 leine des Pays Bas, when those of the Jardin du Roi are 

 nearly as large, and much more interesting, from the whale- 



