86 
HAMLYX'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
"Observing an interesting paragraph re- 
lating to a new Company which has been 
launched — The World's Zoological Trading 
Coy. — I wrote the Editor for the address of 
the Company, as I am desirous of obtaining 
some information regarding it. The Editor 
referred me to you, hence this letter. As a 
matter of fact 1 should be greatly obliged if 
you could tell me as to whether there is the 
slightest chance of any opening or work under 
this Company, for one who is keenly interested 
in Natural History. 
This may appear a somewhat vague 
question, but if you will bear with me in a 
somewhat lengthy explanation I can make the 
matter clearer. 
When war broke out I was studying for 
the Solicitors' Final Examination, for which 
I sat in June, 1915, but unfortunately failed. 
I joined a cavalry regiment immediately, and 
was drafted to France in the autumn of 
1916. At the present time I am in Germany, 
and expect to be discharged from the Army 
in a few weeks' time. Having thus been 
away from the Law for nearly four years I 
have lost so much ground that I should not 
be able to qualify for the standard necessary 
to pass the Final Eyamination without sev- 
eral years of hard study, and the hardships 
through which I have passed on the French, 
Belgian and Italian fronts have not been con- 
ducive to a continuance, after discharge, of 
the hard study and mind-concentration neces- 
sary in the Legal Profession. Besides which 
I am twenty-six years of age, and married. 
From a child, however, I have been greatly 
interested in Natural History, especially in 
Ornithology and Oology, having during the 
past twelve years formed a valuable scientific 
collection of British Birds' Eggs numbering 
six thousand specimens. And I have a little 
knowledge of Taxidermy. But I am keenly 
interested in animals also, and if' I could pos- 
sibly obtain some work in the Natural History 
line — however humble, provided it were suf- 
ficiently lucrative to sustain a couple whose 
tastes are simple — I should be tempted to give 
up the Law and start afresh. Being a Nat- 
uralist yourself you will understand me when 
I say that any work dealing with bird or 
animal life would be congenial to me, and I 
am keen to improve the little knowledge I 
possess. So far as British Birds are con- 
cerned I am acquainted with the breeding- 
haunts and habits of most species on the 
British List, and have collected eggs of some 
of the rarer species in Denmark. 
If you should be sufficiently interested 
in my letter to deem it worthy a replv I 
should be greatly obliged, and if you can 
enlighten me as to the possibilities of which 
I ask I shall be extremely grateful." 
INTERESTING LETTER FROM 
COPENHAGEN. 
Copenhagen Zoological Garden, 
28/2/19. 
Dear Sir, 
You want to know about the condition of our 
gaidens after the years of war, and I shall be 
most willing to write you a little concerning that 
matter. 
The last 4 — 5 years have, naturally, been 
rather difficult; the prices for 1 food, and fuel, to- 
gether with the wages, have been very high, so 
that our expenditures have increased heavily. But 
the attendance has been good and consequently 
the receipts not bad. Nevertheless, we have had 
to avoid all expenses that were not strictly neces- 
sary, so that all the walks, the houses, and the 
enclosures are now in bad want of repairs. All 
our designs for new buildings 1 , eta, we have had 
to give up until better times. 
Our stock of animals is, of course, reduced. 
Before the war we had 15 — 1600 animals, now we 
have only about 1200 left, and not a few species 
are extinct, which there is no prospect of getting 
replaced for the present. 
The greatest loss was that of our old male 
elephant, "Chang," but the war is certainly not 
to blame for that, as he arrived here from Siam 
in 1878, about 5 — 6 years old, and had now 
reached the age of 46 — 47 years. He was an 
enormous fellow, the greatest Indian elephant I 
have ever seen, but without tusks. He was the 
father of 3 sons. In later years he became in- 
vrm, and in spite of all we did to keep him in 
health, grew leaner every day and at last died 
without any real illness. He died in a good time, 
as we had just decided to strangle him the day 
he expired. It was heavy work moving him from 
a small night room, in which he died, to a cart 
and to drive him to the Agricultural College, 
where, he Avas given to one, Professor Boas, who 
is writing a book about the anatomy of the ele- 
phants. 
It is my conviction that the average age of 
the elephant is highly overrated, and I base it for 
one thing upon the fact that to our experience 
the elephant is marriageable at a far earlier age 
than hitherto thought, our female, "Ellen," was 
