23 
Report of the Laboratory of Comparative 
Pathology for the Year Ending 
February 28th, 1921. 
Your laboratory has been the seat of unusual activity 
during the past twelve months because the increase of 
exhibition specimens has brought a rise in the number 
of postmortems. As is usual many new arrivals die 
before they become accustomed to their surroundings 
and before the personnel of the Garden can study them 
enough to appreciate their individual requirements of 
food and habitation. The London Garden has re- 
peatedly emphasized this point and credits itself in the 
death list with specimens dying within six months of 
arrival. This, it would seem, is a generous allowance 
and in order to be somewhat more strict in a critical 
analysis of our own statistics, a list of deaths in the first 
and second two weeks and in the second four weeks 
after arrival has been prepared. The number of deaths 
in each of these three periods, stands in no peculiar 
relationship to one another but the total mortality 
amongst specimens dying within eight weeks after 
For the Year 
Ending 
Mammalia 
AND AvES 
Mammalia 
AvES 
Ani- 
mals 
exhib- 
ited 
Deaths 
Per 
cent, 
mor- 
taUtj^ 
Ani- 
mals 
exhib- 
ited 
Deaths 
Per 
cent, 
mor- 
tality 
Ani- 
mals 
exhib- 
ited 
Deaths 
Per 
cent, 
mor- 
tality 
February 28, 1907 
1343 
346 
25.7 
521 
109 
20.9 
822 
237 
28.8 
February 28, 1908. . . . 
1439 
275 
19.1 
487 
84 
17.2 
952 
191 
20.0 
February 28, 1909 
1439 
267 
18.5 
487 
98 
20.1 
9.52 
169 
15.6 
February 28, 1910 
1412 
250 
17.7 
479 
90 
19.2 
933 
160 
17.1 
February 28, 1911.. . . 
1467 
318 
21.6 
500 
93 
18.6 
967 
225 
23.2 
February 28, 1912. . . . 
1513 
360 
23.7 
516 
105 
20.3 
997 
255 
25.5 
February 28, 1913. . . . 
1511 
309 
20.5 
552 
124 
22.4 
9.59 
185 
19.2 
February 28, 1914 
1543 
290 . 
18.9 
554 
98 
17.6 
989 
192 
19.5 
February 28, 1915.. . . 
1614 
347 
21.5 
562 
104 
18.4 
1052 
243 
23. 
February 28. 1916 
1630 
381 
23.3 
601 
108 
17.0 
1029 
273 
26.5 
February 28, 1917 
1888 
337 
18.1 
596 
90 
16.7 
1292 
247 
19.1 
February 28, 1918 
2019 
451 
22.3 
629 
92 
14.6 
1390 
359 
25.8 
February 28, 1919 
2020 
370 
18.3 
648 
114 
17.5 
1372 
256 
18.6 
February 28, 1920 
2033 
447 
21.9 
628 
147 
23.3 
1405 
300 
21.3 
February 28, 1921 
2390 
574 
24. 
671 
126 
18.7 
1719 
448 
26. 
Since only a few of the reptiles and amphibians are autopsied they have been sub- 
tracted from the death hst and the percentage computed on basis of mammals and birds 
only. 
