The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 556, July 7, 1832Various
General
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 556, July 7, 1832
Various
Popular literature -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
To the right is a semicircular glazed house containing many beautiful
foreign birds, and two Boas, which, from their torpidity, appear nearly as
harmless as their shaggy namesakes that encircle many a fair neck. The
movable aviaries are too numerous to describe; but we must notice, in one
of them, a fine pair of Great Crowned Pigeons from New Guinea; their front
colour is a bright slate, as is that of their crests of fine silky
feathers. We next pass the circular Confectionary room, and reach the
curvilinear glazed building of 300 feet in diameter. (_See the Cut_.) This
has been planned by Mr. Henry Phillips; of the execution we spoke in _The
Mirror_, No. 528. There are four entrances to this well-contrived building.
Immediately within the wall, and all throughout the circle, is a channel
of water containing gold and silver fish; from the margin of which plants
are to be trained up within the glass. Next is a circular range of seats,
then a broad walk, and in the centre of the building are placed the cages
of carnivorous quadrupeds, as Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Hyaenas, &c. The
Lions are especially worth notice: they are African and Asiatic, and the
contrast between a pair from the country of the Persian Gulf with their
African neighbours, is very striking. A sleek Lynx from Persia, with its
exquisite tufted ears, and a docile Puma, will receive the distant
caresses of visiters. The fronts of the cages are ornamented with painted
rock-work, and our artist has endeavoured to convey an idea of the lordly
Lion in his embellished dwelling. The whole building is admirably
ventilated.
Another addition is an octagonal walled enclosure, the entrances to which
are surmounted by pairs of magnificent horns. Here are cages for large
birds, as the Ostrich, Emu, and Cassowary; and foreign _pecora_, as the
Llama and Camel, and a pair of Gnus of great beauty.
Next is an enclosure containing two pair of fine Pelicans, and the
solitary kennels of an Alpine and Cuban Dog: the Armadillo house, with a
pair of eight-banded inmates: near the latter a sty or cage is preparing
for Porcupines. At this extremity of the grounds, is the Deer paddock,
with about forty specimens, among which the Axis or spotted varieties are
very beautiful. We now reach a picturesque group of rock-work, (_See the
third Cut_), the lower part of which is intended for Beavers, the upper
craigs being at present occupied by Vultures and Eagles. The rock-work
consists chiefly of granite, with a few masses of the rock of Gibraltar.
Of the lake, hermitage, and boathouse we have already spoken. The long, or
rather semicircular, glazed building is now finished for the Monkeys, as
is an adjoining house for large birds of prey: here we should notice a
fine Ruppell Vulture, from Senegal, (named after Major Ruppell, the
celebrated traveller in Africa,) a chanting Falcon from Brazil, and a
white Hawk, from New Holland, the latter especially rare in this country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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