ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19646, 15 June 1929, Page 16

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

CENTENARY MEETING. AN HISTORICAL SURVEY. OCTS OT.'K CO3EB3POKD3KT.; LONDON, May 3. Many distinguished guests from abroad attended the centenary celebration meeting of the Zoological Soeiety of London on Monday. The M. of Bedford, the president, was in the chair. The president mentioned that the first exhibition was at Bruton street, S tit the number of the first subLibers was 151, including Ins peat, grandfather. The number of was now 5067, and the senior hello,: W as M-sk Jessie Degeu Cole, who was elected in 1865. During last year, Uj said 2,225,062 visitors toured the Gardens, so that the centenary year found the Society in a stronger position .nan eV l)r. Chalmers Mitchell, the Secretary, said that the first list of the Society contained 4S species of Diammalj, t!S of birds, and one reptile. The centenarj list disclosed 949 species ot mammals, 2330 of birds, and 1174 species of reptiles, amphibia, and fishes. . In tracing the history of the Societj, the Duke of Bedford said that no doubt raaiiT persons assisted in its formation but the real founders were Sir Stanford Baffles, a pioneer of the British Empire in the East, and Sir Humphry Davy, one- of the most distinguished presidents of the Royal Society. In April, a9„7, ladies were declared eligible as bellows on the same conditions as men. The Society thus showed 100 years ago an intelligent anticipation of the movement which ended in the Sox Disqualification Removal Act. Lady Rafnes, who had presented the Sumatran collection of her husband, became their first lady member.

Royal Mcnag«ri«B. In 1331 King William IV., who bad given them all the animals in the menagerie at Windsor, became patron of the Society, and presented to them the Boyal collection of animals at the Tower of London. The- first King of England to collect and keep foreign animals was King Henry I. of Huntingdon, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, stated in his Latin" Chronicle about 1U0:

"Henry I. was extremely fond of the wonders of distant countries, taking with great delight from foreign Kings lions, leopards, lynxes, and eamels, animals whieh England does not produce. He had a park ealled Woodstock, in which he used to foster his favourites of this kind. He had placed there also a creature called a porcupine, sent to him by William of Montpelier." Lord Derby, who be'-ame president in 1882, was a most distinguished naturalist. He had a large zoological collection at Knowlsey, of which most careful records were kept by Lord Derby himself and beautiful drawings made by Waterhouge Hawkins. His agent was eredited -with having written to him the following letter:—"l beg to inform your Lordship that the emus have laid an egg. In your Lordship's absence I have obtained the biggest goose I could find to sit upon it." (Laughter.) That v,-as the story as he had heard it from those who remembered when it was first told in London.

On June 30th, 1851, Lord Derby, president of the Society, died. He had been eonneeted with the Society from its foundation, and ever since his election as bellow in 1826 had taken an aefcive part in the management. He presented a large number of valuable animals and birds to the Gardens, and also bequeathed to them his herd of elands from Knowaley, three males and two females, which was the origin of the Society's stock of this important animal. Seienta&e Work. Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, the secretary, in an address on the scientific work of the Soeiety, said the Zoological Soeiety of London was known to tlje public almost entirely because it established and maintained the "Zeo," from which, indeed, it derived the greater part of its financial support. But it was a scientific body founded by scientific men for defined scientific objects. The centenary congratulations they had received by letter and by delegates from learned bodies all over the world would not have come to them if they were merely exhibitors of living animals, however attractive and edut-utionHl their exhibition might be. Many persons' whose names were great in the history of anatomy had used material from their Gardens. The Hunterian Huseum and many university museums had used their materials. Their Swentiflc Proceedings, published in unbroken annual series since 1830. and their Scientific Transactions, published at intervals viuee ISSo. hud been the means of making known a vast body of original research. There were fijvr of the great zoological writers of the last oentury whose names did not appear in their liets of authors. In the last quarter of a century thev had returned to ono of iheir true-" scientific functions, and they had tried to study the relations of animals to their environment, especially as regards n-esi: asr, heat, light, and food. Thev wicbt ojairo that some of their recent "iastailanons, not.:!,iy ti,., baboons' hill the new monkey house, the aquarium, and the rei.tik house, *nt pioneering experiments based on close investigation of animal physiology.