ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
IOI 
be seen in one of the cages, and which is the type of the 
Strigidce. The characteristics which distinguish those 
two groups are chiefly anatomical and internal ; but, in 
the ordinary owls, the inner margin of the claw of the 
middle toe is not serrated or toothed like a saw, and that 
toe is always longer than the inner toe ; whereas in the 
Strigidce , the claw of the middle toe is serrated, and the 
two toes, the inner and middle, are of nearly equal length. 
Continuing onwards the visitor will soon reach, on his 
left, an enclosure containing two or three Bee-hives. This 
is an experiment which is being conducted by Mr. 
Douglas, an enthusiastic apiculturist, who is endeavouring 
to introduce a good strain of honey-bee into India, with 
the object of creating a new industry. 
From the far end of the Lake there is a beautiful view 
of the large island which occupies its centre, and of the 
Surnomoyee House, and the portion of the Garden 
around the Bandstand. A small picturesque wooden 
house occupies the summit of the island, but no use is 
now made of it, as it was resolved to allow the vegeta¬ 
tion of the island to grow undisturbed, and so encourage 
the various aquatic birds that frequent the Gardens,, 
and especially those that were introduced on to this 
sheet of water, to take up their abode and breed. But 
difficulties have been experienced, as it was never antici¬ 
pated that Crocodiles would have become so numerous 
in the lakes as to prove destructive to the Water-fowl. 
This, however, has been so much the case, that the 
few birds that remain of those originally introduced seem 
to be aware of their danger as they very seldom venture 
into the water. Not only ducks, but large birds, such as 
Pelicans and Black Swans, have been dragged under water 
