THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 93 
the night was whiled away pleasantly owing to the acquain- 
tance with some of the poets possessed by members. 
The ornithological usefulness of the excursion was  dis- 
counted by the shooting that went on through the district. To 
do really effective work, the bird-student must have the birds 
at peace, and the Wamberal birds were far from being in that 
blissful state. Not half the number of species of the original 
winged occupants of the district were seen. It was noted 
that the bell-birds kept to one locality, a fact explained by 
Mr. L. Harrison as being due to the honey food of tfie birds 
being mainly confined to that area. A few parrakeets and 
three kinds of land and marine eagles were observed. The 
laughter of the goburra was only rarely heard, but the butcher 
bird’s mellow call round the camp was a welcome change. 
Terns, leather-heads, kingfishers, goburras, and a few other 
birds were noted. Everything, however, ended happily, al- 
though some of the party had to drive back to Gosford in 
_open vehicles in the rain, which gave them an opportunity of 
expatiating upon the Erina Shire Council’s most cherished 
tourist attraction—next to the dust—namely, its mud. Thus 
the party left the bell-birds, the flowering paper-bark mela- 
leucas, and the roar of the surf, and safely reached the city 
after four days of highly successful collecting. 
MODERN ZOOS. 
[Abstract of Lecture by A. S. Le Souef.] 
Tr is very satisfactory from all points of view to note the 
radical changes that have taken place in the treatment of ani- 
mals in captivity during the last few years. Carl Hagenbeck, 
of Hamburg, a man who had the comfort of the wild things 
thoroughly at heart, and with a genius for designing proper 
inclosures for them, was chiefly responsible for altering the 
whole design of a Zoological Garden ; the basis of his plan was 
fresh air and natural surroundings: It was found from prac- 
tical experience, that even in Europe, many tropical and 
temporate climate animals did better without artificial heat- 
ing, and that absolutely fresh air was very necessary for their 
health and well being.. With this as a starting point it be- 
came possible to do away to a great extent with houses, and 
the shelter compartments were built just large enough to 
keep the inmate dry and warm, while outside this a large en- 
closure giving ample space for exercise in the bpen. Fur- 
ther development took place in the endeavour to make these 
enclosures simulate the animals’ natural environment. The 
greatest triumph was achieved with the larger Carnivora, and 
