Leaving the square with shady trees we come to the great aviary. The flying cages are small in comparison with those of the Berlin aviary; the ironwork is so complicated up above that the birds cannot fly about at the top for fear of damaging themselves. They have only a poor bath and a few mangy-looking trees. The birds mostly perch on iron bars and parts of the wall at the back. They are too crowded: doves, seagulls, pheasants, herons, and starlings jostle each other. It is not quiet enough for them to breed well. It was an amusing sight to see the gulls fed; they made such a noise, and fought so hard for the tit-bits of meat, bread, and green food thrown to them. Close by the great aviary are the stilts and a primitive wooden winter house containing peacocks, etc. At the back of the peacock house are the storks, one of the finest collections in Germany. There are thirteen different species. In summer they inhabit the green banks of the flamingo pond. Close to the place where the children do not play there are a quantity of old houses for poultry, pigeons, etc. There are five ponds: one a large skating-pond, in summer frequented by swans; a second the flamingo pond mentioned above. Three other ponds are the Island and Temple ponds, called after a little clock-temple close by, and the pond which unites them. These stretch across the Garden from the Director’s house to the lion house. They simply swarm with ducks of every description, pelicans, eight species of swans, and twenty-six species of geese. The pelicans are a very fine collection, and contain eight species in all. [Illustration: PELICANS, COLOGNE.] Near the lion house is a machine house producing electricity for the restaurant and pumping water for ponds. Before the machine house is a pretty grotto with a waterfall which leads by a brook into the ponds. CHAPTER XIV ZOOLOGISCHER GARTEN, ELBERFELD: DIRECTORS, MESSRS. HERRMAN AND RIEMAN The Zoological Garden in Elberfeld was founded in 1879 by a number of citizens in the form of a company. The opening of the Garden took place on September 17, 1881. The Garden, which has an area of about 137,641 square yards, lies in the west of Elberfeld, at the end of the town parks adjoining some plantations. The Garden owes much of its attraction to the beauty of the valleys and hills amongst which it is situated, and has on this account been much frequented by artists. It has been considered the most beautiful Garden in the whole of Germany. The number of animals, however, is small. The main object of the Garden is to afford the public a pleasant spot in which to amuse themselves, and for this purpose there are frequent concerts and fairs. The restaurant can hold 25,000 people. * * * * *