THE ZOOLOGIST 

No. 806.—August, 1908. 
PRICES OF ANIMALS: 1896-1908. 
By Capt. Stanntey §. FLower, 
Director of the Giza Zoological Gardens, Egypt. 
Tux prices at which wild animals change hands in Europe 
may perhaps at first sight appear a matter of little zoological 
interest, but a record of these may in time be of historical im- 
portance as helping to show the relative abundance and ease or 
otherwise of importing and breeding many species of mammals 
and birds which are already (or unfortunately appear in the near 
future to be) doomed to extinction from various causes. 
A record of the prices paid a century, or even sixty years, ago 
would now be of decided value. It is chiefly for this reason that 
the present list has been compiled; but the reader must bear 
in mind that it is of necessity very incomplete, being limited to 
my own personal experiences: my hope is that its publication 
may induce other zoologists, who may have had greater oppor- 
tunities, to place on record the prices which have come to their 
notice. 
For convenience of comparison I have limited the prices 
quoted to the last twelve years, 1896 to 1908, and in each case 
the prices are (unless otherwise stated) those for delivery in the 
principal cities of Western Central Europe, such as London, 
Liverpool, Marseilles, Rotterdam, Hamburg, &c. 
Besides being perhaps of zoological-historical interest, these 
Zool. 4th ser. vol. XII., August, 1908. Z 
