MY PARK AT STELLINGEN 39 
ments could not be met in my native town of Hamburg. I 
had indeed acquired in 1888 an additional piece of ground in 
that city larger than my grounds at Neuer Pferdemarkt, but 
it was not large enough ; and the neighbouring lands, which all 
belonged to the State, were withheld from me in the most 
rigid manner by the authorities. I was thus driven to look 
elsewhere. It so happened that I was one day recounting 
my troubles to a friend living at Stellingen, a place in 
Prussia not very far from Hamburg. Scarcely had I finished 
speaking, than my friend took me by the arm and led me to 
a hedge opposite his house over which he showed me a piece 
of land having an area of about four and a half acres, which 
he said was to be had very cheap. I lost no time in settling 
the matter. Within two days the land was my property. 
Immediately afterwards I found that two neighbouring 
estates were to be sold, and within twenty-four hours these 
also had passed into my possession. 
Thus it was that I became the owner, after years of 
searching, of a splendid estate on elevated ground, admirably 
suited to the foundation of a park for wild animals. Plans 
were drawn, and men set to work without delay, and in five 
months’ time twelve large enclosures and five animal houses 
were ready to receive their inmates. 
Although the locality which I had selected was in itself 
admirably suited to the purpose that I had in view, it had 
the defect of being somewhat distant from the remainder of 
my establishment in Hamburg. The communication be- 
tween Hamburg and Stellingen also was bad; and I set to 
work to consider the possibility of buying up more country 
between the two places, and of establishing a direct means of 
communication between them. In this way the area of my 
animal park would have scope for unlimited expansion as the 
business grew, and I should be in no danger of being shut in, 
as I was at Hamburg. The undertaking was a large one, 
and I had to find other capitalists to co-operate with me. 
This, after some delay, I succeeded in doing. Two brothers 
