AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
131 
room, when it would show off its agility by leaping to the 
height of the table. Its food consisted principally of dry 
herbage, such as hay and clover, on which it appears to 
have thriven greatly. That of the Society’s original speci- 
men has hitherto been chiefly grain of various kinds, and 
succulent roots. 
When the new comer was first introduced into Bruton 
Street, it was placed in the same cage with the other speci- 
men; but the latter appeared by no means disposed to sub- 
mit to the presence of the intruder. A ferocious kind of 
scuffling fight immediately ensued between them, and the 
latter would unquestionably have fallen a victim, had it not 
been rescued from its impending fate. Since that time they 
have inhabited separate cages, placed side by side; and 
although the open wires would admit of some little familiarity 
taking place between them, no advances have as yet been 
made on either side. Such an isolated fact can, of course, 
have little weight in opposition to the testimony of Molina 
that the Chinchilla is fond of company. It is nevertheless a 
remarkable circumstance, and deserves to be mentioned in 
illustration of the habits of these animals. 
NATIONAL MUSEUM AT PARIS. 
Some Details respecting the Garden of Plants and tht 
National Museum at Paris. By Mrs. R. Lee, (late 
Mrs. Bowdich.) 
Sir, — I have much pleasure in obeying your request, and 
sending you a few details concerning the Jardin du Roi in 
Paris, of which I have been an inmate during the last 
month. 
I was much concerned to find that the lions, panthers, 
&c. with some of which I had long been acquainted, were 
all dead; and it is said that the classical-looking building 
they inhabited was unfavourable to their nature. Animals 
of this kind require not only warmth and shelter, but 
society; but in these dens a constant current of air rushes 
through, and the animals are totally excluded from the 
sight of each other. Still, however, there are some very 
fine bears of different species; some hysennas, one of which 
is very gentle, and holds his head close to the bars to be 
caressed; and some wolves. Among the latter is one 
whose hair is perfectly black, and shines like floss silk. 
He was brought when very young (I could almost have 
said a puppy), and presented to Baron Cuvier’s daughter-in- 
law, who finding him so tame, desired he might have a dog 
for a companion, and be fed entirely on broth and cooked 
meat. Her orders have been obeyed, and the animal retains 
all his gentleness and docility; he never sees her but he 
stretches his paws through the bars to be shaken, and when 
she lets him loose he lies down before her, licks her feet, 
and shows every mark of joy and affection. In a small 
room, not open to public view, is a curious collection of 
squirrels, rackoons, martens, ichneumons, and some dogs, 
whose monstrous birth gives them a place there, in order to 
aid the researches of M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire. 
But the great attraction — the queen of the garden — is the 
giraffe, to whom I paid frequent visits. She is the only 
survivor of the three which left Africa much about the same 
time, and inhabits the large round building in the centre of 
the menagerie, called the Rotonde. Great care is taken to 
shelter her from the cold, and in the winter she has a kind 
of hood and cape, which reach the length of her neck, and 
a body cloth, all made of woollen materials. She is only 
suffered to walk in her little park when the sun shines upon 
it, and if care and attention can compensate for the loss of 
liberty, she ought to be the happiest of her kind. She 
stands about 12§ feet high, and her skin, with its light 
brown spots, shines like satin; but I confess I was disap- 
pointed with regard to her beauty. She looks best when 
lying down, or standing perfectly upright, in which posture 
she is very dignified; but the moment she moves she be- 
comes awkward, in consequence of the disproportion of the 
hinder parts of her body, and the immense length of her 
neck, which, instead of being arched, forms an angle with 
her shoulders. When she gallops, her hind feet advance 
beyond those in front, and the peculiarity of gait caused by 
moving the hind and fore feet on the same side, at the same 
time, is very striking. She has great difficulty in reaching 
the ground with her mouth, and was obliged to make two 
efforts to separate her fore legs before she could reach a 
cistern placed on the pavement. Her head is of remarka- 
ble beauty, and the expression of her full black eyes is mild 
and affectionate; her tongue is long, black and pointed. 
She is extremely gentle, yet full of frolic and animation, 
and when walking in the menagerie, her keeper is obliged to 
hold her head to prevent her biting off the young branches 
of the trees. Her great delight, however, is to eat rose 
leaves, and she devours them with the greatest avidity. 
The African cows, with humps on their shoulders, who 
supplied her with milk during her passage to Europe, are as 
gentle as their nursling, and when feeding her they come 
and softly push your elbows to have their share. Turning 
from the giraffe one day, and proceeding a yard or two in 
order to satisfy them, I suddenly felt something overshadow 
me, and this was no less than the giraffe, who, without 
quitting her place, bent her head over mine, and helped 
herself to the carrots in my hand. Her keeper, named Ati, 
