ZOO NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3125, 2 July 1917, Page 6

ZOO NOTES.

WINTER IN NEWTOWN VAM \ » .. [By John Castle, Secretary of, ttie> $?#* liugton Zoological- Society.} In some parts of the world winter' iS the'dreary season of the year. Ther* wise men grow trees in cities and. theiii suburbs, and the trees, whose leaves ara:, deciduou.s, arc consequently bnro in win-; ler. lint in Wellington, where many;'' leading citizens; public and private,seem, to bo haunted with a ghastly horror of! Ireeo, and tho few trees that have escaped the horrid vandalism of the destroyers are evergreen, AVellington, in a -winter like the present, when tho grass on its hills is verdant, appears rnoTO cheerful' than it is iu eujiinier when .tho hills are arid On an average afternoon then, a Welliiigtoman lover of Nature should be eiated rather than depressed. Ami even to visitors sojourning in our city, our public parks and gardens just ,noiV should bo attractive. Central Park is' young, but it is full of fascinating promises. The Botanical Gardens are fresh: and bright, and in them, banana palms and. tree ferns and miniature waterfalls, to, say nothing of beautiful, blossoming tree lucernes aud rhododen'drons and innumerable other various and elegenl horticultural felicities, should, charm the hearts of luminous students whoso feelings are allied to intellects. Aye, and perhaps there, is not anywhere a mora; pleasant resort for genuine human be* ings whose hearts are attuned to Nature, than Newtown Park is on a fins jiri-winter afternoon. In the early part of Jie afternoon the air, though fresh,' is so mild, and the sunshine has so> much warmth in it that we can enter; the section of the park which has been, dedicated to the Zoo and its patrons; sit on tlie seats which, in lucid intervals between their uu'tting-down-trees spasms, a sensible City Council has provided; and listen to thrushes, the-most superb of mundane- musicians. Then, while we sit there listening to Natures sweetest music, variety will be given to the entertainment, when some globe-trotters talc about the vitiosity of Wellington winds, and even. revile the most heavenly clrmate, -that nince the palmy days of the Garden of Eden has ever, at any trme„ been graciously bestowed upon theresideuts of the' terrestial region. When tired of this we can ton from the discordant, though monotonous, falsehoods of the sons of Belial, and find a welcomeciiange in the silent truthfulness /of voung budgerigars, too young to fly and tod genuine to tell fibs, but which, lured by the salubrity of perfect weather! have left their nest and ventured out'to enjov the luxury of liberty. A" tow; davs" ago, on June 25,\ in the year or grace 1917, an old man stood watchingand pitying one of these precocious tinytoddlers, but while the old gcntlomatt was imagining that the poor little, bird must die because it hail not wings to fly, back to its cosy ne3t, the infant took hold if a wire-netting partition, and. with • heoked-beak and drnohing claws and marvellous agility, climbed up to shelter-. "Strange that I did not think of the possibility of that ■ sad* the smiling vonerable sage to. hirnseH* "Aye," he added, "although a kaka had shown to me scores of times how unnecessary wings are to parrots when there are wire-netting fences about, B.v the time that the little nestling has struggled into cosiness, the light is tatting, and as, despite the hacking and hewing and devastating proclivities of. successive combinations of unwisdom in the Reserves Committee of the Welling--ton. City Council, some noblo fir trees tremblingly hold on their endangered, heads, and offer welcome, though precari; ous, hospitality to, the free wild birds of the world, thousands of starlings and: numerous, or innumerable, sparrows swarm into the V»f>' sanctuaries, and m music silve'rv.sweet but delicvously subdued, least "it should attract the attention of Wellingtonian vandale, breathe; • in a time of simmery sweetness fronj; their little grateful hearts a unique butmelodious symphony of praise to tho infinite Author of sweet music and green leaves.. The music of sparrows is never heard to advantage I think exception it interprets the mellifluence of starlings. All who would enjoy Newtown Park at its best Should hurry up and spend a. winter' afternoon, while trees remain. Bo=es are beautiful things, but they arft not substitutes for trees: The ancient sage was not ignorant who representin* the Author of the Universe wrote that the All-wise had communicated to him the sublimest fact of botany; as well as a. revelation, of theology that "the' leaves of the trees were for tho healing of the nations."

Beauty in Winter. Men and women that lovo beauty may. generally see more than thicepennyworth for threepence in the WoUmgton, Zoo; for even when south-west winds fill our salubrious atmosphere with icy freshness, mallard and mandarin drakes and Paradise ducks and the Elliot pheasant and the golden pheasants and the pheasant that the Zoo label tells us is a common pheasant, but which I believe is a splendid crossbred between the bow Taro Old English pheasant and the magnihcent Mongolian, ayo and tho suver pheasant, and the superb hybrid between: the gorgeous Lady Amhurst pheasant and tho splendid golden pheasant, 'all shine resplendently. •

The- Aquarium, . TmTre is ii good show of fish in tlia aquarium, especially in, the juvenile department, just now, the young salmon and the voting trout being m fins condition. And a great improvement ought lo be effected at a small cost. The show of eels, catfish and amphibia- should ba renewed,; and science should be applied to prevent a recurrence of catastrophe. Anything Now? Some'.dingoes were born in the Zoo a few weeks ago. I am pleased to be able to say that one Canadian wood duels lias been reared,, and that he is on exlubifiou in good'plumage. Three birds of llu- magpie liimilv have also appeared, and a beautifully-wloiued canary, that X had not previously noticed re-', ceutly attracted my attention. There is always something now in the Zoo, for. A'alu'rc works night and day and has worthy looms to work with-tho peacock is being arraved in a, fine now robe, of ineffable spl'euilour; several young pheasants are putting on changes of raiment that are being woven specially on and for them; George the handsome young lion, bearing that honoured name, is "rowing a majestic mane, and i 3 promises to become a paragon; and now the labels on the Zoo pens, though yet rather scantv, are not untrue. But why ; arc George "and his sister penned to-, gethev in a small room, when, there Is empty a commodious house and yard in. which ••one or both of could, I think, move about much bettor than thev can where they are? The floor. ot the' box in which the two young lions ■ are is not sutfablo for lions to live on.

The Bright Side of the Zoo. I--hare-referred- to tho variegated teaties if the ducks,- the growing, giory of tho peacock, the charming splendours ot . the pheasants," and tho developing handsomeness of young George. Now I glad- I ly direct attention to the condition of. t'lie kangaroos, the camels, the four baby lions, the fallow deer, the excellent snow of Keas, the fact that the . gomdian finches that arc- now "in this Zoo have lived much longer than any ot their predecessors lived there; the good show of honey-eaters, the healthy appearance. . of the canaries; in fact, tho condition of i most, if not all, of the birds in the small birds' aviary is admirable, as well as that of all the birds in tho pleasantry; and of mosT. of thoss, in tho waders' aviaries. It will be noticed then that although • in my opinion • there ie room for numerous improvements in the expert management of the Zoo, tho excellent attendances lately, especially ■ on holidays, have not been unmerited; and the numerous visitors should have received in enjoyment much more than they have paid in cash. In conclusion, N I must not omit from mention the noble dogs, whose historic doings can never be too highly praised; or.,the marvellous adventures of Jacko, the mascot monkey, who with oar troops was under sheli-'firc at A rmenticres, and in a memorable engagement on the Somnie. "Wellington boys, the wide world over, are proud of out Zoo, and some who aro going from us, as well as veterans who must stay at home, will keep it worthy of them, .