AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



131 



room, when it would show off its agility by leaping to the 

 height of the table. Its food consisted principally of dry 

 herbage, such as hay and clover, on which it appears to 

 have thriven greatly. That of the Society's original speci- 

 men has hitherto been chiefly grain of various kinds, and 

 succulent roots. 



When the new comer was first introduced into Bruton 

 Street, it was placed in the same cage with the other speci- 

 men; but the latter appeared by no means disposed to sub- 

 mit to the presence of the intruder. A ferocious kind of 

 scuffling fight immediately ensued between them, and the 

 latter would unquestionably have fallen a victim, had it not 

 been rescued from its impending fate. Since that time they 

 have inhabited separate cages, placed side by side; and 

 although the open wires would admit of some little familiarity 

 taking place between them, no advances have as yet been 

 made on either side. Such an isolated fact can, of course, 

 have little weight in opposition to the testimony of Molina, 

 that the Chinchilla is fond of company. It is nevertheless a 

 remarkable circumstance, and deserves to be mentioned in 

 illustration of the habits of these animals. 



NATIONAL MUSEUM AT PARIS. 



Some Details respecting the Garden of Plants and the 

 National Museum at Paris. By Mss. R. Lee, (late 

 Mrs. Bowdich.) 



Sir, — I have much pleasure in obeying your request,and 

 sending you a few details concerning the Jardin du Roi in 

 Paris, of which I have been an inmate during the last 

 month. 



I was much concerned to find that the lions, panthers, 

 &c., with some of which I had long been acquainted, were 

 all dead; and it is said that the classical-looking building 

 they inhabited was unfavourable to their nature. Animals 

 of this kind require not only waraith and shelter, but 

 society; but in these dens a constant current of air rushes 

 through, and the animals are totally excluded from the 

 sight of each other. Still, however, there are some very 

 fine bears of different species; some hysennas, one of which 

 is very gentle, and holds his head close to the bars to be 

 caressed; and some wolves. Among the latter is one 

 whose hair is perfectly black, and shines like floss silk. 

 He was brought when very young, (I could almost have 

 said a puppy,) and presented toBaron Cuvier'sdaughter-in- 

 law, who finding him so tame, desired he might have a dog 

 for a companion, and be fed entirely on broth and cooked 



meat. Her orders have been obeyed, and the animal retains 

 all his gentleness and docility; he never sees her but he 

 stretches his paws through the bars to be shaken, and when 

 she lets him loose he lies down before her, licks her feet, 

 and shows every mark of joy and affection. In a small 

 room, not open to public view, is a curious collection of 

 squirrels, rackoons, martens, ichneumons, and some dogs, 

 whose monstrous birth gives them a place there, in order to 

 aid the researches of M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire. 



But the great attraction — the queen of the garden — is the 

 giraffe, to whom I paid frequent visits. She is the only 

 survivor of the three which left Africa much about the same 

 time, and inhabits the large round building in the centre of 

 the menagerie, called the Rotonde. Great care is taken to 

 shelter her from the cold, and in the winter she has a kind 

 of hood and cape, which reach the length of her neck, and 

 a body cloth, all made of woollen materials. She is onl}'' 

 suffered to walk in her little park when the sun shines upon 

 it, and if care and attention can compensate for the loss of 

 liberty, she ought to be the happiest of her kind. She 

 stands about 12^ feet high, and her skin, with its light 

 brown spots, shines like satin; but I confess I was disap- 

 pointed with regard to her beauty. She looks best when 

 \ymg down, or standing perfectly upright, in which posture 

 she is very dignified; but the moment she moves she be- 

 comes awkward, in consequence of the disproportion of the 

 hinder parts of her body, and the immense length of her 

 neck, which, instead of being arched, forms an angle with 

 her shoulders. When she gallops, her hind feet advance 

 beyond those in front, and the peculiarity of gait caused by 

 moving the hind and fore feet on the same side, at the same 

 time, is very striking. She has great difficulty in reaching 

 the ground with her mouth, and was obliged to make two 

 efforts to separate her fore legs before she could reach a 

 cistern placed on the pavement. Her head is of remarka- 

 ble beauty, and the expression of her full black eyes is mild 

 and affectionate; her tongue is long, black and pointed. 

 She is extremely gentle, 5-et full of frolic and animation, 

 and when walking in themenagerie, her keeperisobliged to 

 hold her head to prevent her biting off the young branches 

 of the trees. Her great delight, however, is to eat rose 

 leaves, and she devours them with the greatest avidity. 

 The African cows, with humps on their shoulders, who 

 supplied her with milk during her passage to Europe, are as 

 gentle as their nursling, and when feeding her they come 

 and softly push your elbows to have their share. Turning 

 from the giraffe one day, and proceeding a yard or two in 

 order to satisfy them, I suddenly felt something overshadow 

 me, and this was no less than the giraffe, who, without 

 quitting her place, bent her head over mine, and helped 

 herself to the carrots in my hand. Her keeper, named Ati, 



