94 THA AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
the bold plan was adopted of placing these on view without 
bars intervening, the barriers being walls and moats. Bars 
spell captivity, and it is indeed a great advance to be able to 
show these noble animals without them. 
A start has been made in keeping the animals on these 
lines in the Sydney Zoo; but the exposed position of the 
gardens, the small area and the ceaseless noise and dust from 
the traffic, together make very unsuitable conditions in which 
to maintain a Zoo, and before going further the Council are 
endeavouring to secure a spot which is suited to the purpose, 
and which will enable them to keep their interesting and 
valuable collection under the best possible conditions. 
Numerous pictures of the new class of enclosures were 
shown. 
PRESERVATION OF HERBARIUM SPECIMENS, 
The “‘Report of the Department of Agriculture,’’ Vic- 
toria, 1907-10, contains that of the Government Botanist, 
which deals, among other things, with the results of experi- 
ence at the National Herbarium, Melbourne, in the matter 
of the preservation of herbarium specimens from the attacks 
of insects. 
The most successful method of preservation has been found 
to be the use of camphor, in tightly-fitting cupboards. This 
is stated to be more effective than periodical exposure to the 
_ vapour of carbon bisulphide. The objection to the latter in- 
secticide is that it does not penetrate large parcels of plants 
sufficiently thoroughly to destroy all the grubs in them during 
the maximum time, namely, three days, that they may be 
exposed in the poison chamber; such parcels simply reinfect 
others when they are returned to the herbarium. The cost of 
the methods is about the same as regards material, but cir- 
cumstances in favour of the use of camphor are the smaller 
amount of time and labour that are involved by its employ- 
ment. 3 
It is pointed out that specimens will last all the longer if 
they are handled as little as possible. A useful precaution 
that has been employed, whenever reference has been made 
to specimens, is to poison any that show signs of insect in- 
festation, with an alcoholic solution of mercuric chloride simi- 
lar to that which has been recommended for use in connection 
with the preservation of books in the tropics. The importance 
of such a precaution in a herbarium containing large numbers 
of type specimens, is easily understood. 
