ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



Amsterdam has the most interesting and in- 

 geniously arranged collection of insects of any 

 such installation noted by the writer. There is 

 an elaborate series of cases containing feeding 

 caterpillars and others hung with masses of de- 

 veloping cocoons, from which numerous showy 

 moths were hatching. On the walls were cases 

 with fine mounted displays of the life histories 

 of the lepidopterous insects of Holland. The 

 most striking feature among the series of ento- 

 mological exhibits was a display of ants. These 

 were enclosed in narrow square glass cases, 

 about three feet long and high. The nest was 

 made of cement, and had been burrowed and 

 channeled with great care to imitate the tortuous 

 chambers naturally made by the insects. The 

 exhibit was then mounted in the shallow case to 

 appear as a transverse section of a big ant 

 mound. On the front of the case is a black 

 cloth curtain, to keep the exhibit dark, — this 

 may be raised at the will of the visitor. When 

 the curtain is raised the channels are seen alive 

 with ants performing their various duties. The 

 workers are seen caring for the larva;, and in 

 one case, quite spectacularly quartered in the 

 center, was a large queen ant, attended by her 

 busy consort. Also exhibited in the Insect 

 House was a curious collection of walking 

 "sticks" and several jars of ant "lions," which 

 little insects lie at the bottom of a funnel-shaped 

 burrow of fine sand, the jaws only protruding. 

 Unwary ants that pass near the edge of this 

 burrow are brought down by a miniature shower 

 of sand hurled up by the "lion." The jars of 

 aquatic insects demonstrated the interesting pos- 

 sibilities in an exhibit of this kind. About 

 every zoological garden on the continent has its 

 insect house — several of these are of recent in- 

 stallation. An installation of this kind would 

 be of great interest in New York. 



Among the rare reptiles in Amsterdam, the 

 choicest specimen was an example of the Bor- 

 nean Gavial, Tomistoma schlegeli. The head 

 and snout of this remarkable creature might be 

 compared to a banjo with a long handle. The 

 beautiful Aquarium was very fully stocked. The 

 Electric Eel and Electric Cat-Fish were exhib- 

 ited in adjoining tanks. In the batraehian 

 room was a tank containing a number of exam- 

 ples of the Blind Salamander from the Adels- 

 berg Cave, in Austria. 



Rotterdam Zoological Gardens. — Through 

 the courtesy of the Director, Dr. J. Biittikofer. 

 the writer was enabled to witness and appreciate 

 at the Rotterdam Zoological Gardens, one of the 



most interesting zoological spectacles in Enropi . 

 This consists of the heronry, tenanted by wild 

 birds, and situated immediately outside of the 

 big flying cage. A large collection of wading 

 birds was on exhibition in the flying cage, and 

 a number of these were nesting. Inside the 

 cage was a stork on her nest, and the young 

 could be observed lifting their heads for food. 

 This presence and nesting of the captive birds 

 had attracted the wild Blue Heron, many pairs 

 of which had built the great rookery in the tall 

 trees immediately outside the flying cage. From 

 this rookery comes a continual gutteral croak- 

 ing, and there is a constant procession of the 

 old birds coming and going, their long legs 

 trailing behind them in picturesque fashion. 

 From the masses of nests may be seen the 

 wobbly heads of the young, clamoring for food, 

 or crowding out on dangerously swaying 

 branches were well feathered youngsters un- 

 steadily clutching their lofty perches in an 

 eager watch for the parents' return. Dr. Biit- 

 tikofer informed the writer there were eighty- 

 two nests in this wonderful rookery. Seven- 

 teen big nests, coarsely constructed of sticks and 

 brush, were counted in a single tree. The old 

 birds have a half-hour's flight to get to their 

 fishing grounds. 



The Monkey House in Rotterdam resembles 

 the Amsterdam structure in the liberal use of 

 glazed tile. The monkeys run into outside 

 cages for the greater part of the year, passing 

 through doors which swing either way, and 

 which the animals operate with as much non- 

 chalance as climbing their perches. 



The new Reptile House in Rotterdam is a fine 

 and jaractical little building. Here the writer 

 again noted the use of the glass vacuum tiles. 

 — practically the entire roof being of this con- 

 struction, — which causes the building to be 

 flooded with diffused sunshine. The cage deco- 

 rations were beautifully arranged, — a combined 

 use of tuffstone, moss, earth and plants impart- 

 ing a very natural effect. The earth was neither 

 too dry nor too wet — hence the reptiles ap- 

 peared to be in exceptionally good condition. 

 The brilliant illumination of the building ap- 

 pears to effect this condition. There was an 

 excellent series of reptiles. The Rotterdam and 

 Frankfort Gardens are way in the lead as re- 

 gards reptile collections on the Continent. 

 Among the more interesting reptiles noted in 

 the Rotterdam Reptile House were the Gaboon 

 Viper, African Cobra. American Diamond Rat- 

 tlesnake. Regal Pvthon. Black-Tailed Pvthon. 



