15 
wavS plague in this city, consequently when you entered the Post 
Office and similar places, you had to tread on a mat sunk in a slight 
receptacle in the floor, and which contained Carbolic acid, by that 
means you got Carbolic on your boots, and so plague carrying fleas 
would keep awa}^ from you. 
I left b}' theS.S. Athenian for Vancouver during the afternoon, 
this was an intermediate vessel, and, in consequence, second rate. 
There were also about three hundred Chinese steerage passengers, 
and about one hundred natives of India. 
We arrived at Victoria, on Vancouver Island, on August. 10th, 
aud I was enabled to visit their Public Park and Museum ; the latter 
was small, but very well kept and arranged. I left the same after¬ 
noon for Seattle, by steamer, and then on to Tacoma by train, reach¬ 
ing that city at midnight. The next day was .spent go'ing over their 
Public Gardens with the President of the Park Commissioners. 
This town lias a splendid Park and well laid out grounds, and a 
growing Zoological collection. I also secured some animals to send 
to Melbourne, including a buffalo. The .same night I left for 
Vancouver, getting there to breakfast next morning, and visited 
their fine Public Park aud small Zoological collection, some of the 
Pine trees were very large. I could not help being struck with the 
growing jirosperity of these comparatively young cities. 
The same afternoon (12th) I left by train for Boston. The Cana¬ 
dian Rocky Mountain.s were passed through the next day and night, 
but their beauty and grandeur are bcyoml description. The large 
Canadian National Park is at Banff, winch is 4500ft. above sea level 
and consi.sts of 5732 square miles of countiy. A considerable herd 
of buffalo are kept here, but time would not admit of my seeing 
them. We arrived at Winnipeg on the 15th. but only remained half 
an liour. There arc immense grain elevators here, mostl}* belong¬ 
ing to tlie Canadian Pacific Railway Company. We reached Toronto 
on the 17th, and Niagara Falls next day at 3 a.m., and Boston on 
the 19th. 
The business of the Zoological Congress occupied until the 25rd, 
five days. There were about 300 delegates from all parts of the world, 
including China and Japan. Manj- of the papers read were of great 
interest and value, aud will probably be published later on. We 
also visited the Museums and Botanical Gardens. I left on the 24th 
with about twenty members of the Congress, for Woods’ Hole, where 
the Government have a large salt-water Fish Hatchery. It i’s situ- 
ate<l on tlie shores of the ocean, and is well ap]iointed, even having 
a small steamer for their use. The principal fi.sh hatched here are 
Flounders and Co<l, and Lobsters are also hatched in large num¬ 
bers. 1 was told that 18 millions were hatched in one year, and that 
eighty per cent, were turned out. and that seventy-four million 
flounders and one hundred and thirteen million Cod were turned out 
last season, the numbers are of course approximate. I went over the 
building very carefully aud took photographs of the trays, etc. We 
left tlie next day by steamer for New Bedford, catching the train 
there to Falls River, where vve joined another steamer for New York, 
at which city we arrived earl^^ next morning, the 26th. 
Most of the members of the Congress were quartered at the 
Columbia University. During the few days we were here we were 
fully occupied. The Museum is a magnificent structure, and is not 
finislied yet, and the exhibits are quite worthy of it, the bird groups 
are perhaps the most realistic, with their painted background The 
