21 
and thriving, and enjoy themselves during the summer in a 
large pond provided for them. 
Among the collection of birds in the Gardens, the Austra¬ 
lian mound builders are the most curious and interesting. 
The scrub turkey (talegalla lathami), which exists in a 
wild state in New South Wales and the coast scrubs of 
Queensland, has produced young birds for some years past. 
The necessary earth and leaves arc provided, and the birds 
do the work of raising a large mound, in which the eggs 
are laid and hatched without incubation. No less than 16 
young birds were raised two years ago, and were disposed 
of in Europe at satisfactory prices. The Iowan (Leipoa 
Ocellata) is also a mound-raising bird, found only in the 
mallee scrub, in the North-Western parts of Victoria and 
wherever in other colonies the mallee is found, but though 
the specimens in .the Gardens have never reared any young, 
they have commenced every year, but never completed their 
nest. 
A collection of the various opossums, wallabies, wild 
ducks, macaws, notably the beautiful hyacinth macaw, 
may also be seen, as well as specimens from the Transvaal 
and the Orange Free State—places which are of supreme 
interest to us at this juncture—which will amply repay in¬ 
spection. During the spring and early summer months the 
climbing roses are a sight worth seeing, and the gardens, 
with their gay flower beds and well-kept walks, compare 
favourably with the zoological gardens of the Old Country 
and on the Continent. When the zoological clement be¬ 
came prominent, the Government gave the Society power 
to charge for admission on every day of the week except 
Sunday, when the grounds are open to the public without 
cost, but as a quid pro quo for this stipulation the Govern¬ 
ment, recognising the great loss that must accrue to the 
Society, has always given a substantial subsidy. That this 
concession of free entrance is fully taken advantage of may 
he witnessed any fine Sunday afternoon, as from 5,000 to 
15,0°° persons usually visit there on fine days, and the 
police estimated that on some special holiday Sunday as 
many as 4O,0( o people had passed through the gates. The 
( ouncil of the Society has never objected to this concession, 
but it must be admitted that it is a severely heavy handicat) 
to its progress, and effectually precludes the hope of making 
a large revenue from gate money, because the majority of 
people prefer to come and pay nothing on Sunday rather 
than pay the modest sum of sixpence on a week day—a sum 
which is about half that charged in any other zoological 
gardens in Europe. If the Society had been allowed to 
manage its own business as regards admission, the Zoologi- 
