20 
collection of animals and birds. The chief difficulty ex¬ 
perienced was that of obtaining* fresh specimens, and it 
was found that the most efficient method of getting neces¬ 
sary exhibits was to visit personally the countries whence 
they came, and both Mr. De Souef, the Director, and his 
son, Mr. Dudley Le Souef, the Assistant Director, whose 
name and fame as a naturalist are now known to the scien¬ 
tific world of natural history, have made many voyages to 
England and the continent, as well as to India, Singapore, 
the Malay States, Egypt, China, and the Cape of < xood 
Hope. The Society has always endeavoured to make its 
collection of Australian fauna as perfect and interesting as 
possible, and the collection of kangaroo in the garden is 
the best and largest to be found in any zoological gardens in 
the world, comprising t 6 or 18 varieties, amongst which are 
the rare and interesting tree-climbing kangaroo from 
Northern Queensland, and the black and red walleroo. 
There are altogether over 50 specimens on view. The kan¬ 
garoo was almost extinct a few years ago in Victoria, which 
necessitated their being protected under the Game Act, and 
they are now slowly making headway again, but there is 
great difficulty in procuring fresh specimens except from 
the adjoining colonies. The emu in its wild state is also 
very scarce in Victoria, except on the Lower Murray, where 
they may still be seen in numbers. The Society always has 
a good supply of these birds, including some of the so-called 
spotted emu from Western Australia. 
Excepting the Dingo, or native dog, the only 
creature in these colonies which may be described 
as a wild carnivorous animal is the Tasmanian mar¬ 
supial wolf, which is now only found in very rugged coun¬ 
try in Tasmania, having been driven back, on account of 
its destructive character among sheep, to the most inac¬ 
cessible places It was in olden days a denizen of this con¬ 
tinent, in which its bones have often been found. There 
are several specimens of this curious animal in the Gardens, 
including a she wolf with four young cubs, which have until 
quite lately been in the pouch. The “ Sarcophilus ursinus” 
or “ Tasmanian Devil” well named on account of its evil 
appearance and nature, may also be described as a wild 
carnivorous animal, of which specimens may be 
seen in the Gardens. Last year Mr. Dudley Le 
Souef secured, amongst other novelties, a fine pair of young 
Polar bears, which were obtained at Hamburg, where they 
had recently been brought by a whaling ship, whose crew 
captured them in the Polar regions, and although the cli¬ 
mate is not like that of the Arctic regions, they look well 
