INTRODUCTION ix 
selves in snow and rain. I am not so certain that I agree 
with some of the other characteristic features of the Park at 
Stellingen, but they are at the least extremely interesting. 
The grouping of incongruous animals in “happy families” is 
perhaps more the work of the showman than of the naturalist. 
It is always subject to very serious risks, and success can 
be obtained only in the case of young animals specially 
trained to disregard their natural instincts. It is a curious 
and interesting spectacle, but not one that I should like to see 
repeated in ordinary menageries and Zoological Gardens. 
On the other hand, the devices by which bars and railings 
are replaced by ditches and undercut ledges of rockwork are 
extremely attractive, and to my mind pleasing, although I do 
not much care for the more exuberant forms of such artificial 
scenery with painted backgrounds. Where the necessary 
space can be obtained, it is delightful to see animals across 
ditches instead of through bars. But there is another side to 
the question. If visitors are to be protected, the arrange- 
ments must be such that the animals are seen from a con- 
siderably greater distance, and it is doubtful, especially in the 
case of the larger Carnivora, if the arrangement is practicable 
except with trained animals. Diversifying the ground with 
artificial rockwork on which the animals may climb certainly 
adds very much to the beauty of the display, and the ad- 
ditional exercise given to the animals must be a great advan- 
tage. But here again there is another side to the question. 
Rockwork, natural or artificial, is extremely difficult to keep 
in the state of sanitary cleanliness which is essential in a 
menagerie, and it provides a cover most attractive to rats and 
from which it is almost impossible to dislodge them. The 
abundant supplies of food always attract rats to Zoological 
Gardens, of which they are the most troublesome pest, and 
