The lion house, constructed on the very best principles, is one of the finest in Europe, and contains German East African and Somali lions, tigers, leopards, black leopards, jaguars, and a very curious light-coloured variety of the jaguar, the only one known in captivity. There were some cleverly constructed duck-ponds with pleasing rockwork, trees, and waterfalls, and opposite to them was a large crane house. Several of the houses are built in exact imitation of Chinese and Indian temples and pagodas, which give the Gardens a very Eastern appearance. [Illustration: OSTRICH HOUSE, BERLIN.] After passing several large duck and swan lakes and a wild-sheep rockery, we come to the monkey house, which, however, is comparatively small and disappointing. In front of some pretty beds of tulips is a truly magnificent elephant house, built in imitation of a Hindoo temple, the domes painted in yellow, brown, and blue. In the centre of this palatial house is placed the skeleton of a full-grown elephant. The ceiling is supported by huge columns, with two carved elephant-heads on the top of each. The house contains three Indian elephants, two African elephants, one Indian rhino, and some tapirs. Huge sliding-doors lead out into large open-air paddocks fitted with baths. Behind the elephant house are the wild-swine sheds. [Illustration: DEER SHED, BERLIN.] We now come to another finely decorated and well-constructed house--the ostrich house. It is painted inside and out with large, ancient Egyptian figures of men and birds. At one end of the interior is a very realistic painting of two huge stone Egyptian figures in a sitting position, bathed in a gorgeous sunset. The columns and the ceiling in this house should also be noticed. It contains a good collection of ostriches and cassowaries. The next house with large water-tank contains two hippopotami. Opposite a high tower (entrance fee ten pfennig, which goes towards the animals’ food) is a very long line of pheasant pens, all prettily planted with tiny shrubs and trees. Passing a large llama and tahr rockery we come to the antelope house, built in an oval shape with minarets, the huge balls at the top covered with gilt. It contains some rare animals. There are water-buck, harnessed antelope, inyala, several _Oryx leucoryx_, two addax, a beautiful pair of giraffes (South African form), a blessbock, two eland, one roan (_Albifrons_), two tora hartebeest, one Cape hartebeest, and one Lichtenstein hartebeest, the last four species of antelopes being very rarely met with in captivity. In quaint brown houses inlaid with white are several dwarf antelopes from the Cameroons and other parts of Africa, the whole collection forming one of the most complete in the world.