80 POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 
high. There are nine species, of which the so-called ‘‘fur 
seal’’ is one. 
Seals always have short and stubby front flippers, 
which are covered with hair, and provided with claws. In 
most species the hair is coarse and valueless. The seal has 
a very short neck and by reason of the weakness of its 
front flippers, it is not nearly so active nor so interesting 
as the sea-lion. 
The Harbor Seal, (Phoca vitulina), is the species common 
along our Atlantic coast, and since it serves so well as a 
type of hair seals, or true seals, it will occasionally be 
shown in the Park. In comparison with the active and 
vivacious sea-lion, it is a tame and rather uninteresting 
creature; but neither has any commercial value, save for the 
purposes of exhibition when alive. 
THE PRIMATE HOUSE, No. 17. 
The Primates are the four-handed animals belonging to 
the zoological order called by that name, which includes 
man, the anthropoid apes both great and small, the baboons, 
monkeys and lemurs. The word ‘‘monkey’’ is by no means 
sufficiently comprehensive to embrace all these forms. 
Were it otherwise, this building would be called, officially, 
the Monkey House. 
The Primates include the creatures which stand nearest to 
man in the zoological scale, and in interest to all classes of 
humanity they stand above all others. There is no intelli- 
gent person, civilized or savage, to whom the humanlikeness 
of apes and monkeys does not appeal. On the other hand, 
some of the baboons are in feature and temper so thoroughly 
beast-like, their diabolism is almost as fascinating as the 
man-like character of the great apes. The variety of forms 
in the Order Primates, and the wide differences between the 
various groups, imperatively demand, for the proper rep- 
resentation of this Order, a large collection. 
The Primate House was erected in 1901, at a cost of 
$65,000, and opened to the public on December 22d, of that 
year. It is 162 feet in length, 74 feet in width, contains 
16 large interior cages, 22 small cages, and 11 exterior cages, 
two of which are of great size. The points of special ex- 
cellence in this building are as follows: An abundance of 
room for the animals,- an abundance of sunlight, perfect 
ventilation, an extensive series of open-air cages, freedom 
