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Proposal to form a Zoological Garden in Calcutta. 



It is universally acknowledged that nothing has been 

 created in vain ; and as this is true with regard to all objects 

 that live, whether on the land or in the waters, it should be 

 of itself enough to recommend the study of nature as a 

 profitable pursuit. Of the myriads of creatures that compose 

 the creation, man is only familiar with the few which have 

 attached themselves to him ; scarcely forming a thousandth 

 part of the equally curious and interesting creatures which 

 have evinced a less tractable disposition for domestication, 

 and still hide themselves in the recesses of the forest. 



It has therefore become necessary, in order to acquire 

 a knowledge of animals, to assemble them together in 

 collections. Small collections of wild beasts are maintained 

 as objects of curiosity or amusement at native courts ; but 

 such collections are small, and confined to the more ferocious 

 and common description of beasts, generally such as afford 

 entertainment by their encounters with each other. 



It has recently become an object of much interest in civi- 

 lized nations, to devote collections of living animals to pur- 

 poses of instruction as well as entertainment, and to form 

 for their reception, what are called Zoological Gardens, in 

 which they are arranged with the utmost convenience for 

 observing their habits, and acquiring a knowledge of their 

 names and peculiarities. About 15 years ago, a Zoological 

 Garden was established in London, for the exhibition of 

 animals from all parts of the world. That garden has now 

 become one of the most interesting places of general resort 

 in the metropolis, and yields an income from admission 

 tickets, of upwards of ten thousand pounds a-year. 



The expence of collecting wild animals in England is very 

 great, as they must all be introduced from foreign parts ; 

 and such as are brought from warm climates require 



