NEWS BULLETIN OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



accomplished fact. The foundation has been laid, and a good- 

 ly portion of the superstructure has been completed and oc- 

 cupied. The people as a whole have done a portion of the 

 goodly work, but private generosity and private enterprise 

 have done more. 



But our task is only one-third of the way toward com- 

 pletion. The private effort represented by the Zoological So- 

 ciety stands pledged to donate $80,000 more within eighteen 

 months, and the people have recently provided $300,000 for 

 the continuation of the improvements which are needed to 

 render the Zoological Park more completely available for the 

 use to which it has been devoted. In view of the long years of 

 delay that have elapsed in the founding of this institution, the 

 remaining sum to be raised by subscription should be fur- 

 nished promptly and cheerfully, in order that we may, to some 

 extent, make up for lost time. It is beneath the dignity of 

 Greater New York to allow this enterprise, involving but a 

 comparatively small expenditure, to languish and halt 

 through lack of additional funds. 



of these creatures. This tank, divided into ten compartments 

 by plate-glass partitions, contains the market terrapins, such 

 as the " Slider," or Cumberland Terrapin ; Troost's Terrapin ; 

 the Rough-shelled Terrapin; the Geographical, and the ex- 

 pensive " Diamond-back," which during certain phases of the 

 champagne season occasionally, at the larger markets, sells 

 at sixty dollars per dozen. With the exception of the last- 

 mentioned species, the dealers class all market terrapins under 

 one head " Sliders." Thus from a large shipment of " Slid- 

 ers," which arrived at a downtown market, we selected speci- 

 mens representing four species. 



Besides these favorites from the markets, which for the 

 most part inhabit the brackish marshes of the South, a speci- 

 men well worthy of attention is the big Green Turtle, whose 

 habitat embraces many seas. This interesting creature oc- 

 cupies the marine tank, containing " artificial " sea water. 

 Its peculiar movements, as the long flippers are brought into 

 play, suggest the graceful soaring of the hawk, or the flight 

 of the turkey buzzard. 



COPYRIGHT, 1901 



NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



THE DUCKS' AVIARY. 



TURTLES, TERRAPINS, AND TORTOISES. 



A little over eight months ago, the entire reptile collection 

 of the Zoological Park numbered exactly three specimens — 

 a snapping turtle, and two small terrapins — confined in a tub 

 in the storage yard, where wild animals were then arriving. 

 To-day, the reptile collections, on exhibition in a structure 

 second to none of its kind in the world, contain over five 

 hundred specimens, in which all the various orders of the 

 class Reptilia are well represented. 



From the three turtles, which formed the humble nucleus 

 of our present extensive assemblage of reptiles, the collection 

 of Chelonians has increased to eighty specimens, representing 

 twenty-eight species, which embrace a proper proportion of 

 the land and water varieties. 



In the long Turtle Crawl, in the main hall of the Reptile 

 House, the Terrapins, forming an important section of the 

 Chelonian collection, live contentedly in as near a state of 

 nature as it is possible to provide for them. On one side of 

 this commodious tank, with its sand banks and growing 

 plants, bark-covered slabs from a large tree have been fasten- 

 ed to imitate the derelict timber which floats about the haunts 



Passing along the Turtle Crawl, the visitor finds living 

 representatives of what, perhaps, he never anticipated ob- 

 serving outside the pages of zoological nomenclature. From 

 beneath a mossy log protrude four snake-like heads. A close 

 examination will reveal that the necks are equally " snakey," 

 and terminate in a small black shell. These strange little 

 creatures, appropriately called " Snake-necked Turtles " 

 (Chelodina longicollis), came from Australia, a land of 

 monstrosities, where the zoological aspect of everything has 

 assumed eccentric proportions. Although water turtles, they 

 possess the typical caudal appendage of the land tortoise. 

 Their necks are so long that withdrawal into the shell in time 

 of danger is a physical impossibility. Hence, when alarmed, 

 this singular reptile lays its head and neck sideways close 

 against the fleshv part of its body, well under the edge of its 

 shell. 



In another compartment, a little family of Pond Turtles 

 (Nanemys) roost happily on a log, while a look into an ad- 

 joining enclosure might lead the visitor to think that the 

 brilliant orange patches on the surface of the water were in 

 the shape of aquatic foliage in full bloom. This proves to be, 

 however, only a friendly conference among specimens of the 



