The fee for admission to these large Gardens is one gulden. There are no less than fifty different houses or pens, besides the aquarium (one of the finest in Europe), and four museums.
Turning to the left after paying at the turnstile, one sees the llama pens, containing specimens of the huanaco, the vicuna and the alpaca; near them are two camels of different kinds. Close by is a pretty little deer shed, one of the inmates of which is a very fine example of Père David’s deer from Manchuria. The insect house is next encountered, with a good collection of living caterpillars and chrysalides in glass-cases. Some specimens of the atlas moth and common swallow-tail butterfly had just emerged (May 2). Passing through a door, the visitor comes to a reptile house, well lighted and heated. Here are to be seen some very fine examples of pythons from Java, boa-constrictors and other large snakes, tortoises, lizards, alligators and a Temminck’s snapper. In the centre of this room are three specimens of the curious Surinam sloth (Cholopus didactylus), hanging from horizontal bars by large curved claws. Passing through a door, you find yourself in the parrot house, which is well filled with the brilliant-coloured noisy birds. Here, also, was the magnificent bird of paradise from New Guinea, and the curious wingless kiwi from New Zealand. A monkey house, well stocked, is next passed, and we then come to the large duck-pond, simply teeming with mute swans, wild swans, black swans, bernacle and Canadian geese, gannets, gadwalls, sheldrake, mallard, wigeon, teal, pintail and flamingoes. We next see a very fine pair of American bison, and two young ones born in the Gardens. The crane and wading-bird pens are close at hand, one large pen containing an extraordinary number of coots, rails and oyster-catchers, all looking the picture of health. There is a long, well-lighted lion house, built in 1859, containing twelve cages inhabited by a pair of lions from Somaliland, a pair of tigers from Delhi, some leopards and jaguars, and a pair of pumas, with their young born in the Gardens.
We now come to the elephant house, built in 1897, in which are housed four Indian elephants and a tapir. In the antelope house, which stands near, are a fine pair of elands in a large roomy paddock, water-buck, a harnessed antelope and its baby, a brindled gnu, an oryx, and the rare inyala. Next, we find a very fine collection of birds of prey, including a beautiful specimen of the Bateleur eagle from Africa.
We now come to the ethnological or anthropological museum, built in 1888, containing native armour, weapons, dress, etc., from all parts of the world, and many draped waxen figures (life-size) of Chinese and Japanese. Behind this museum are some black-and-white yaks from Thibet, and several zebras from India. Further on is the skeleton museum, and after that we come to a hippopotamus house, containing two specimens of this huge pachyderm. They are very well housed, having, besides their large bathing-tanks inside, an outdoor playground and water-tank. Passing through a large conservatory, full of trees and plants, we come to an extremely picturesque seal grotto, and close by a deer shed.
YAK, AMSTERDAM.
The aquarium is reached next, for admission to which an extra charge of fifty cents is made. This building, erected in 1882, is well worth a visit. Its tanks contain, amongst many others, specimens of coal-fish, sea-anemones, huge cod, conger-eel, crabs, lobsters, plaice, lump-sucker, skate, dog-fish, cat-fish, stickleback, king-crab (very curious), barnacles, newts, gold-fish, pike, barbel, roach, some magnificent trout, carp, perch, American trout and a salamander. In the aquarium is a large museum of preserved natural history objects, mostly fish, shells and reptiles.
After leaving the aquarium, we encounter large pheasantries and peacock houses, wild-sheep pens, ibis pens and a pigeon house, from which the birds have free exit. A third museum is found to be full of stuffed birds, eggs, and nests; some of the birds stuffed in their natural surroundings are very beautifully done. The zoological library adjoins. A fourth museum, built in 1894, contains a large collection of stuffed animals and a collection of shells. Here is a huge skeleton of an African elephant, with good tusks, and a stuffed giraffe; a whole unmounted hippopotamus skin, and a stuffed quagga, now extinct.
Close by this museum are some pens containing zebras and wild asses. The new bear house, built in 1897, contains a fine collection. A large house, built like a fortress, containing wolves, hyænas and jackals, is close at hand.
Dr. C. Kerbert very kindly sent me a volume of many hundred pages, containing the names of all the specimens in the gardens, aquarium, and museums; but in a work of this size it would be utterly impossible to give the names of even one-quarter of the treasures that are contained in these most remarkable Gardens.