572 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



PURPLE DEATH ADDER. 



NEW FEATURES IN THE EUROPEAN 

 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



By Raymond L. Ditmars. 



HAVING recently returned from an inspec- 

 tion of the zoological institutions of Great 

 Britain and the Continent, the writer begs 

 leave to present a general resume of his obser- 

 vations on the newer features of interest. The 

 tour in question embraced the zoological gar- 

 dens, private collections and museums, as fol- 

 lows: — (England) — Gardens of the Zoological 

 Society in London ; the collection of hoofed ani- 

 mals of the Duke of Bedford, at YVoburn ; the 

 Natural History Museum and Aquarium in Liv- 

 erpool. (Holland) — the Zoological Gardens in 

 Amsterdam; the Zoological Gardens in Rotter- 

 dam. (Belgium) — the Zoological Gardens, 

 Antwerp. (France) — the collection of animals 

 in the Jardin des Plantes, and the Museum with- 

 in the same boundaries. (Germany) — Zoolog- 

 ical Gardens, at Cologne, Frankfort, Dresden, 

 Berlin, Hannover, Halle, Hamburg; Hagen- 

 beck's Tierpark, at Stellingen (Hamburg). 



Among the new features in the Zoological 

 Gardens of London are the Prosectarium and 

 Quarantine House. The former was well on its 

 way to completion when the writer left London, 

 in July. It forms a new floor over the Reptile 

 House and is constructed along the lines of a 

 research laboratory, with three large, separate 

 working rooms, each brilliantly lighted with 

 large windows facing the north. Immediately 

 in the rear of the Reptile House is the new 



Quarantine Building, a brick structure with all 

 conveniences for the isolation and examination 

 of newly arrived animals. 



Among the newly arrived animals in the 

 London Gardens was the Takin, Budorcas taxi- 

 color, exhibited for the first time alive in any 

 zoological collection. Another rare animal was 

 an Aard Vark, which was yet under observation 

 in the Quarantine Building. In the Small Bird 

 House was a magnificent series of Birds of 

 Paradise of over half a dozen species — the 

 series filling the big wall cages on each side of 

 the building. All of these birds were in splen- 

 did condition, and the writer was informed that 

 once in captivity they are as hardy as crows. 

 It is their capture in New Guinea, and the risk 

 of extended transportation from the home coun- 

 try, that cause their rarity in captivity. The 

 collection of primates in the London Gardens 

 was in superb condition — the coats of the ani- 

 mals fairly glowing with health. Superintend- 

 ent Pocock informed the writer that the tempera- 

 ture of the Monkey House is kept quite low 

 during the winter, — often registering as low as 

 40° Fahrenheit. All of the monkeys are pro- 

 vided with sleeping-boxes, packed with hay. 

 The Rhesus Monkey, Mandrill, Hamadryas, 

 Thoth and Chacma Baboons, remain out of 

 doors throughout the winter. They are pro- 

 vided with sleeping-boxes and hay bedding, but 

 the sleeping-boxes are not furnished with arti- 

 ficial heat. All of these specimens were in su- 

 perb condition. 



Zoological Gardens in Amsterdam. — The 

 Monkey House in Amsterdam is ideal. This 

 structure appears to the writer to offer the most 

 perfect sanitary conditions of any animal build- 

 ing in Europe. It has many novel features, 

 among them being elaborate skylights made up 

 of vacuum tiles. This offers the great advan- 

 tage of ideal illumination, with its germicidal 

 effects, yet without the heat in summer, or cold 

 during the winter months, that comes with a 

 building with a great area of illuminating sur- 

 face. The writer noted the use of these vacuum 

 glass tiles in Rotterdam, also, and it was ex- 

 plained to him that they prevent the passage of 

 heat or cold as they are cast hollow, and then 

 subjected to an air extracting process. With 

 its white tiled floor, its central fountain, cages 

 with glazed tiles and brilliant, though diffused 

 illumination, the effect of this building is that 

 of beauty, wonderful cleanliness, and perfect 

 sanitation, — particularly on account of the ab- 

 sence of woodwork. 



