On the opening of the London and North-Western Railway to Manchester (_circa 1846_), the Gardens reached their full dimensions, and an entrance was built to accommodate visitors alighting at Belle Vue Station. The zoological collection still clustered close round Belle Vue House and the bowling-green; indeed, the main outline and extent of the collection of the early fifties is still visible in the so-called aviary of the present day. It is divided into two compartments. The first is the more interesting. There are cages on three sides, arranged in four tiers--the highest evidently intended for the larger birds of prey, the lowest for carnivorous beasts, and the intermediate tiers for birds and small mammals. A few round cages in the other side held paroquets, and the macaw-stands were placed in the middle. A large aviary occupied the second compartment. The collection was compact and representative. About 1852 a new range of cages was built for the larger cats, and a little later the first elephant took up his residence in the Gardens. Three cages represented the first lion and tiger house, and one of the first occupants was the King of Oudh’s ‘fighting tiger,’ purchased at a very high figure, and never surpassed since in size or nobility. About 1870 began a time of extension and decentralization. The lion house was extended to its present size, and it proved a suitable place for breeding both lions and tigers. The other animals were housed, without much attempt at scientific order, far and wide over the extensive grounds, which had been considerably augmented by purchase, and now, with their two lakes and wooded tracts, offered innumerable picturesque cage sites. The polar bears form a beautiful picture in their light-built cage under a knoll covered with noble forest trees that dip their roots in the shady waters of the lake. A moss-grown staircase leads up to the pits which contain Himalayan black bears and a Russian brown bear. They take life easily, many reaching the age of fourteen to twenty years. [Illustration: THE BEAR PITS, MANCHESTER.]