1883.] Zoölogical Gardens, a Critical Essay. 1225 
They are very expert in tracking, and know their own country 
very well, but I have often completely bewildered one when ina 
place he had not been before. They have but little sense of 
direction. They know the localities of a region and thus find 
their way about. In a strange country they are comparatively 
helpless, They have a good sense of humor, and are very sen- 
sitive to ridicule. Dances are common among them, and gener- 
ally celebrate some recent occurrence. 
There are no chiefs, but they seem to be governed by the 
oldest men, who form a kind of council. Organized wars be- 
tween the tribes rarely occur, but if an aborigine strays away 
from his own country and is found by another tribe, he is imme- 
diately slain by them. 
he members of a tribe have no fixed habitation in their own 
region, but roam from place to place, wherever food happens to 
be the most plentiful. In fact, in habit, structure and mental ca- 
pacity, they seem to be the lowest forms of men. 
“10: 
ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, A CRITICAL ESSAY. 
BY THEODORE LINK. 
FRERE is a great deal more in and about zoölogical gardens, 
I believe, than most people are apt to imagine; indeed, a 
lamentable ignorance or indifference concerning the true philoso- 
phy of the subject seems to prevail, generally and individually. 
: Hence zoological gardens are probably the most conservative 
institutions to be met with. One may visit them, year after year, 
and while everything around them abounds with the healthful 
changes of our progressive age, they offer but few evidences of a 
Proper spirit towards scientific advancement. It is certainly 
strange that some of the shining lights in natural history have 
ik gad an indignant cry against the obvious defects and 
ally sg thrust upon our vision at every step. Only occasion- 
hu n et with some traces of what might be termed semi- 
ee eatian attempts at transcendental zoology ; but while these 
by = in the right direction are hailed with genuine satisfaction 
SSN of ‘animal life, it is a pity that they should be 
little spa Specimens of comparatively small importance and but 
The lio et value, such as deer and other native herbivores. 
Ons and tigers, etc., the acknowledged monarchs and nobil- 
