188 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



warm by a couple of small portable oil-stoves, similar to those 

 used for heating bedrooms — these are more convenient and less 

 costly than a fixed gas-stove. Every cage should communicate 

 with a separate out-door run (which need not be very large), and 

 thus every animal can get its share of fresh air. Wirework, 

 painted black, allows the animals to be seen better than the same 

 material galvanized and unpainted ; for this purpose Brunswick 

 black is the best application, being cheap, drying quickly, and 

 non-poisonous. Sawdust should be freely sprinkled over the 

 floor of the cages. It has many advantages, being cheap, warm 

 to the animal's feet, absorbent, deodorant, and innocuous if 

 inadvertently swallowed. The feeding and drinking vessels 

 should be unspillable, and if made of zinc will be non-absorbent, 

 and not liable to rust. 



In conclusion, it may be stated that this essay has touched 

 merely upon the fringe of a highly interesting but sadly neglected 

 subject, and that there are many other animals which can be 

 obtained and easily kept — Mongooses, Agoutis, Badgers, Rac- 

 coons, and the like. It is to be hoped that amongst the host of 

 zoological pursuits which nowadays attract the attention of 

 enthusiasts, the study of captive Mammalia may eventually take 

 its due place. Already the extensive breeding of Silver Foxes 

 in confinement for the sake of their fur indicates a step in this 

 direction ; and although this is a business matter undertaken for 

 the sake of profit, it is surely not too much to expect that in this 

 era of progress some will undertake for the sake of science alone 

 a pursuit so fascinating, so interesting, and so novel as the 

 systematic observation of living Mammalia. 



