OUR ZOO.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1375, 28 February 1912, Page 2

OUR ZOO.

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS. THREE INTERESTING PAPERS. A meeting of tho Wellington Zoological Society was held in tho Public Library at Newtown on Monday evening. Thors were present (ho Key. J. Crewcs (presiding), and more than a quorum of members. Three short papers were read, nnil an interesting discussion followed. Mr. B. H. Low, 8.A., read the first paper. The subject of it was, "The Emu." Using a blackboard, some bones, a skeleton, a bird model, and a part of a larynx of an emu, Mr. Low illustrated the .several parts of his essay, showing tho points of resemblance between tho emu am! other living birds, and the points of dissimilarity between them, from which he inferred that the emu more closely resembles the original progenitor of tho flightless, running birds than any other living bird resembles that somewhat remole progenitor. Uy comparing and contrasting feathers of the. pheasant, lbs kiwi, and tho emu, Mr. Low directed attention to several exquisite adaptations discoverable in the mechanism of fenHiers. By comparing the anatomy of tho throat of the einti with that of some other birds, and exhibiting a part of the larynx of an emu, Mr. Low accounted for the peculiar trumpet note, so well known to all who have noticed the emus in tho Zoo. In a few minutes Mr. Low showed not only (hat the emu is a uniquely interesting bird, but also that each feather of it is a rniciacosmic palace of wonders and beauties, which may bo opened and explored by all who aro wise enough to visit u Zoo frequently, ami join the Wellington Zoological Society. Having eulogised the fmo collection of struthiuus birds in the Zoo, Mr. Low suggested that the Zoological Society should try to complete Hie representation •of tho genus slruthionidae, by getting some enssawaries.

Origin and Growth of tho Zoo. The second paper was rend bv ]\lr. Castle, the treasurer of the society. His paper was on the origin and growth oil the /oo and the Zoological Society. Mr. Cast e s interest in zoology took hi'm back to (he days when he used to visit the London /00, when Jumbo and Alice, two noted eleplmuts which afterwards caused great and lasting sensations in the world ' of zoology and the newspancrs of England and America, were at tho zenith of their popularily. Mr. Castle remember* when Wellington had a little Zoo composed of a few alpaceas. Later, • lie says, it had another, (ho centre. . and circumference of which was a solitary emu. Later, (hero was" 10 (ells us, another composed of a few tjiatara ami one or two other reptiles. Jiul Ihu Wellington Zoo which we now have began six or seven years ago, when' tho Key. J). C. Bates brought to Newtown Park tho lion which Doslock ami Wombwell had presented to (he cilv. This Zoo has grown, and, despite considerable ad- , versa criticisms, such as all 'good in.stitiitions have in their early stages to endure, (ho Zoo is, Mr. Castle contends, growing and developing on right lines. Air. Castle, ' who is tho chairman of the Newtown bcliool Committee, expressed the opinion that to iix lb? names of places ami several other matters of importance on the minds o scho ars learning geography, the Zoo should be an invaluable aid. Mr. Castle, contends that all the school leaehers in : tha city should, as .some of them do, tako an interest in (ho Zoo, and help to improve it. Ho holds (hat from an educational point of view the Zoo is an as«et ■ which is valuable now, and which some ot the school teachers.could render very much morn valuable. Passing from tho ' Zoo to tho Zoological Society, .Mr. Castle .. spoke uf tho good spirit prevailing in (ho society, and the good progress it is maleing. Ihe society worked well last venr, which was (lie first of its existence.' Uo ■ was proud of the great comniemoralivo concert and exhibition of moving pictures held in the Town Jlall at tho end of that year. lie was proud of the society's first report and ba!ancg;sheet; but ho'assures ' tho society, (hat a' much gutter one will be priSKSlua ntftho end of the present year.

About Monkeys. The third paper was read bv (he prcddonl, the Kev. J. Crewcs., The subject of us paper wns: "The Monkeys we bavo 111 tho Zoo; and the Monkeys We want M place there." He broadly divided tho monkey family into two groups-! ho Old World monkeys and tho New World monkeys. He said Hint tho monkevs in the Zoo represent three Old World species and two New World. But although not many species are represented, teachers, ho said, would admit that from on educational point of view the collection is a remarkably good one, Monkevs, ho said, m il y -!{°i o J tts M n ' c<l according to their noses. All Old World monkeys are cntarrliiues— their nostrils aro almost close together, and their apertures are directed downwards. Most of the New World monkeys arc platyrrhines, their nos'.Tils are not so near together. In our Zoo thero ore the common macaques, the rhesus ' n , a . cfl ,"l) lcs I ', " 11(1 t!l « vervets, 'which aro Id World monkeys, and the snjous and tho marmosets, which arc New World monkeys. Mr. Crowes directed attention to the teeth of the monkeys, nlso. Ho said classifiers now give much attention to teeth. Every full-mouthed Old World monkey, like every full-mouthed mau, whose teeth are his own and natural, has 32 teeth. Most of the New World moilkeys have 36 each. The 'marmosets,' though New World monkeys, liavo only 32, but Ihe marmosets yot have four teeth which the Old World monkevs have not, but lack four which the Old World monkeys- have. Tails also were referred to, nml Mr. Crowes,,having commended what Mr. Castle had said about geography, mentioned the mutual interest which zoology and general history gave to each other when studied in a zoo. He proposed that the Zoological Society should try to import a pair of tailless macaques, or Barbary apes, from Gibraltar, and a pair of Entellus monkeys from India. He mentioned, incidentally, that he hoped that the society would soon, through tho kindness of Mr. Le Souef, of Sydney, bo able to get a pair of Entellus monkeys —tho sacred monkeys of Dumbny. Mr. Crewcs said that he had never favoured any proposal to fence in the Zoo and charge for adhn'ssion to if; but ho did think that tho City Council should soon build a house and form an enclosure adjoining it, in which some delicate and some rare mammals, reptiles, and birds should be kept, and a small aquarium should be established, and that in consideration of this necessary and special cost the Parliament and (lie City Council should so far compromise as io allow a charge to be made for admission' to thii enclosure with the house.

A conversational discussion followed, in. which Mr. R. A. Wright, Mr. and Mrs. Winter, Mv. Morrish, Mr. Newhouse, and others took part, and numerous important matters were mentioned, such as whether the society should ask the City Council to co-operate to pnrclinsc an elephant, whether monkeys could be obtained from officers of the British Army or Navy nt Gibraltar; the' new yard Villi fountain, etc., in it, recently 'formed in llio Park, to accommodate wadi'iut birds; whether baths should be provided for monkeys; whether an incubn'm- suflieiently large to hatch emus t aiid ostriches should bo procured; how' tile society's fnndshould bo streiiTth*n''d; what the'sociely's next move should be towards; and what, should be done to improve flic Zno without putting any greater strain upon the City Corporal ion's finances. Two new members were unanimously added to tho society.