JARDIN D’ACCLIMATATION, PARIS: DIRECTOR, M. A. PORTE
In 1858 a concession of about forty acres was made in the Bois de
Boulogne by the city of Paris to five members of the bureau of the
Société d’Acclimatation. The Emperor Napoleon III. enlarged upon
this concession by a gift of a further ten acres. A subscription was
then opened, with a capital of a million francs divided into 4,000
shares, most of which were taken up by the members of the Société
d’Acclimatation, who, after having conceived the idea of the Garden,
wished to endow it handsomely.
After the preparatory plans had been made by M. Davioud, the resident
architect of the city, and approved of by the council of thirty-four
of the principal shareholders, the work was begun in July, 1859. The
arrangement of the work, under the surveillance of a committee chosen
by the members of the council of administration, was entrusted to Mr.
D. W. Mitchell, the Secretary of the Zoological Society, London, who
had come to offer his services for the creation of the new undertaking.
On the sudden death of Mr. Mitchell in November, 1859, the committee
took upon themselves the management of the work.
In fifteen months the work was finished. On August 1, 1860, Dr. Rufz
de Lavison, late President of the General Council of the Martinique,
was appointed Director of the Garden, whilst M. Albert Geoffroy
Saint-Hilaire, the joint Director, busied himself with the hygiene and
propagation of the animals. On October 6, 1860, the Emperor inaugurated
the new institution in person, and a few days later the public were
admitted.
In 1865 Dr. Rufz de Lavison died, and M. Albert Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
was made Director of the Garden.
When the Siege of Paris became imminent, the majority of the animals
were deposited in the Zoological Gardens at Brussels; others were
confined at Antwerp. The rare birds were sent to Tours; some to M.
Barnsby, Director of the Botanical Garden in that city; others to
M. Cornély van Heemstra, owner of the Château de Beaujardin. During
this sad time an enormous amount of work was done, the animals being
transported as quickly as possible. On September 4, 1870, this
evacuation began, but it was brought to a stop five days later, as
the trains then ceased to run. On the other hand, M. Milne Edwards
graciously offered to take into the Jardin des Plantes part of the
collection of animals, on condition that they were provided with
sufficient food. From that moment, and during the whole of the siege,
the Garden, situated as it was outside the fortifications, went well
through the sad and sudden changes of fortune.
The famine which ere long besieged the city then demanded the
sacrifice of all the animals. One can imagine what it cost the keepers,
who were so attached to the animals they fed, to have to kill the two
elephants, Castor and Pollux, the beautiful antelopes, the camels,
etc. Nevertheless, when peace came, the animals which returned from
the places where they had been deposited were still numerous enough
to restock the Garden and put a little life into the place so long
deserted.
The collection had scarcely been reinstalled in the Garden when the
insurrection of the Commonwealth broke out. This time the Jardin
d’Acclimatation was in the very middle of the tempest, and for nearly
two months bullets and shells fell night and day in its very midst.
The officials remained faithful to their posts, and hid themselves in
cellars, from which they emerged when they were able during moments
of calm--too short, alas!--to attend to the wants of the animals and
plants. In this way, from time to time, they ran the greatest danger.
The gate-keeper, Decker, was killed by a bursting shell; the gardener,
Loubrieam, succumbed to wounds which he had received; Lemoire, one of
the keepers of the animals, and Lombard, the carpenter, were wounded.
Troops of regulars and bands of insurgents frequently met in the very
heart of the Garden, which was furrowed by trenches and defensive
works. The volunteers of the Seine and Oise and the federates fought
two serious engagements in it. A number of animals were struck by the
bullets, the fences and battlements being pierced by them.
The Jardin d’Acclimatation was very greatly disturbed by this terrible
crisis, and people doubted whether it would ever recover itself.
The Municipal Council and the Ville de Paris happily understood what an
interest the Garden had been, and would not allow such an establishment
to disappear. They came to the succour of the shareholders by
generously voting an annual subscription of 60,000 francs for three
years; moreover, the Société d’Acclimatation gave a sum of 35,000
francs and all the animals which it possessed. M. Saint-Hilaire, whose
activity and energy had increased in spite of obstacles, received
anxious inquiries and marks of sympathy from numerous donors, which
hastened the reconstruction of the devastated collections. His Majesty
the King of Italy offered two African elephants to replace the two
killed during the siege; the venerable M. Westerman, the Director
of the Garden at Amsterdam, M. Jacques Vekemans, the learned and
sympathetic Director of the Garden at Antwerp, and all the zoological
gardens in England and in Belgium added their generous gifts, and
contributed largely towards the reinstallation of this beautiful
Garden, which had been so cruelly tried. Numerous improvements were
voted by the council to suit the requirements of the animals and to
please the public. New sheds were built for the goats and sheep,
enclosures made for breeding ducks, and a new stable and large
dog-kennels were constructed, which were opened shortly afterwards;
the dairy service was organized both in the Garden and in the centre
of Paris. Depots, where pure milk could be bought, were established
at Chevet’s and at the Palais Royal. A building for the fattening
of poultry for the table was given over to a clever breeder of the
department of Allier, who brought the whole of his stock-in-trade to
the Garden. Animals were lent by several members of the society. In one
of the outbuildings of the conservatory a library was opened, where
visitors could find natural history works to interest them. Discussions
began again, on two days a week--Thursdays and Sundays; concerts, under
the direction of M. Mayeur, were held in the afternoons on one of the
lawns in the Garden.
At last a new era of prosperity had opened in the Jardin
d’Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne. From the time it was opened to
the year 1873 more than 200,000 people had signified by their presence
the just popularity which the Garden had acquired.
Besides the Garden in the Bois de Boulogne, the Société d’Acclimatation
has other establishments under its control--one at Hyères, one at
Chilly-Mazarin, near Paris, one at Pré Catalan, and another at
Marseilles, in the South of France.
The Succursale at Hyères is set apart for the cultivation of plants,
palms, and trees from hot climates, and these always command a ready
sale in Paris for the ornamentation of parks and houses. At Pré
Catalan, in well-kept houses, are to be found sixty dairy cows, which
are to be seen in summer grazing in the paddocks and fields of the Bois
de Boulogne.
At Chilly-Mazarin, on a plot of ground some acres in extent, an
overflow establishment was instituted in 1891. Here are to be found
dog-kennels, cow-houses, stables, pheasantries, poultry-houses
and agricultural products. At Marseilles the Society has another
Zoological Garden, in which imported animals rest and get acclimatized
before being sent up to Paris.
* * * * *
[Illustration: SEA-LION SUCKLING ITS YOUNG, JARDIN D’ACCLIMATATION,
PARIS.]
The Jardin d’Acclimatation is situated in that part of the Bois de
Boulogne which extends between the Porte des Sablons and the Porte de
Madrid, and runs along the Boulevard Maillot. The principal entrance
is in the east, near the Porte des Sablons; a second entrance is to be
found in the extreme west, near the Porte de Madrid. You can reach it
either by the Central Railway, getting out at Neuilly Station or at the
Avenue de l’Imperatrice, or by the Courbevoie and Suresnes omnibuses,
or, of course, by cab. On concert days there is a special service of
omnibuses.
Two prominent stone-and-brick buildings will direct the visitor.
After having passed the turnstile, you find in front of you a large
carriage-drive, which goes right round the Garden, and from this
principal artery the whole network of walks and paths runs through the
Garden leading to the different sheds and houses. The visitor finds
on his immediate left a large conservatory or winter garden, which
shelters from the rigour of winter a beautiful and important collection
of plants and trees, which would not live in a low temperature.
Almost in front of this large conservatory you see a building, which
is intended for the mechanical fattening of fowls (a system not to be
encouraged). Here is to be seen on a big scale M. Martin’s system.
The fowls are placed in a huge circular cylinder, three metres high
and turning on a pivot, which allows the man to cram all the fowls
(which are placed in the boxes ranged in tiers one above another) in
this fattening apparatus without changing his position. A car on an
elevating rail allows the man easily to reach those birds placed on
the highest part of the apparatus, for, by turning a handle, the car
rises or descends in front of the boxes. Holding them by the head, he
introduces an indiarubber tube into their beaks, and forces the food
down their throats by pressing with his foot a pedal, which starts a
machine worked by a piston. The play of this pedal is regulated by a
dial-plate, which shows the operator the amount of food introduced.
This varies according to the strength of the bird to be fattened, and
also to its state of fatness. In eighteen days a fowl will go up
to more than double its weight, and will be perhaps a pound more at
the finish. M. Martin, the inventor of this ingenious system, which
allows a man by himself to cram 400 fowls in an hour, had already
used it in the department of Allier, at Cusset, near Vichy, and his
products, under the name of ‘Phœnix fowls,’ have acquired notoriety.
He then asked the Society of the Jardin d’Acclimatation to allow him
to construct at his own expense in the Garden a model of his fattening
establishment, which he started at his own risk. Visitors can now
procure at this establishment fat fowls all ready for the table.
Following on the right a large circular walk, you find, after
the fattening establishment, sheds where all kinds of rural and
agricultural objects are shown. Here the public can see buildings of
every sort applicable to the farm: Swiss cottages made of cut wood,
tents, wire-lattices, aviaries, chairs, tables, and garden-seats,
elevators, garden-tools, guns and fishing tackle, porcelain and
terra-cotta vases--in short, everything which tends to ornament parks
and gardens, or to the culture of plants, or the raising of stock.
On leaving the exhibition sheds, the first building which catches
the eye is the monkey house, in front of the enclosure for storks
and river-birds; then you come on the right to the pheasantry, the
parrot aviary being attached to a little pheasantry, and on the
other side of the way are the ostrich and large-bird enclosures. The
large pheasantry follows these, then the upper pheasantry, and next
the poultry house, an immense circular monolith building in Coignet
mortar, in which there are also enclosures for different sorts of
pigeons. On the left are the enclosures of the sheep and goats. After
passing the duck-ponds you reach the kangaroo house, and on the left
the cattle enclosures. Here the broad road round the Garden divides
itself into two; to the right it leads to the Neuilly Gate and Saint
James, to the left to the big stable, before which stands a spacious
lawn, where the large ruminants graze during the day. Round this lawn
the elephants and horses, with various carriages, carry visitors and
children. Continuing to follow the big circular road, you find on the
right, a little behind the stables, a collection of vines (the most
beautiful and most complete in the world), the bee-house, the dairy,
and the refreshment-room; to the left, the huts of the llamas and
alpacas, the moufflon rock and the antelope house. Next, you visit
the aquarium, situated on the right of the large circular road, and
then the experimenting garden and the dog-kennels, which face the deer
enclosures. Having returned to the big conservatory close by, you find
another conservatory full of paroquets and small cage-birds from hot
countries.
The middle of the Garden is cut by an artificial river, upon the banks
of which are placed enclosures for geese, ducks, and water-birds. It
forms in front of the lawn of the big conservatories a large lake
covered with swans, flocks of ducks, some cormorants and seals.
The monkey house is an oblong building 15 metres long and 9 metres
broad. The walls are covered with earthenware slabs. In front of the
building is an immense cage, where the strongest of the monkeys can
take the air and enjoy themselves on the beams and ropes, which take
the place of the trees in their native forests, during the warmest
hours of the day. On entering by doors which are arranged to keep out
draughts, the interior of the monkey house is found to be a large hall,
in which are placed four huge cages reaching almost to the ceiling, and
which communicate with the exterior pleasure cage by means of large
doors. Against the walls are placed little wooden cages, in which are
put those delicate specimens which require special care.
Besides the quarters of the keeper, there is an infirmary for sick
monkeys. Heat is supplied in winter by hot-water pipes running under
the floor, which keep an even temperature without drying up the air.
Attached to the large conservatories is a spacious hall, the _grande
salle_, measuring 40 metres in length, and being able to accommodate
8,000 people, half of whom can sit down. On the ground-floor, opposite
to the entrance-door, is a large stage, upon which lecturers entertain
the public several times a week with a magic-lantern, the subjects
being Zoology, Ethnology, Travel, Botany, etc. On Sundays and Thursdays
a first-class band gives popular concerts, which attract a great number
of people to the Garden.
On the west of the hall is an aquarium and a bird-gallery, which were
opened to the public at the end of 1892.
To the right of the principal entrance is a room, built in 1887, for
the sale of a great variety of vegetables and plants.
Continuing to the right, and passing the exhibition hall and the
shooting and fishing museum, which have been described, we come to the
new sale gallery, a large hall 30 metres long, in which are displayed
more agricultural implements, carriages, harness, carts, iron rails,
wooden fencing, and everything appertaining to the care of animals and
plants--all to be sold at very reasonable prices. A catalogue can be
obtained free of charge.
Communicating with the new sale hall is a parrot and small bird
gallery. Passing the monkey house, we find large wooden constructions,
holding the peacocks, the turkeys and fowls of many kinds, such as
Houdans, Dorkings, etc. In this part of the Garden are to be found
pretty little rustic buildings containing various birds. In one of them
are to be seen the great horned owls which belonged to Gustav Doré,
the celebrated artist. In another little pavilion is a Norwegian hawk.
In an enclosure bordering on the main walk is to be seen a beautiful
collection of cranes from all parts of the world. In the same enclosure
are the cassowaries, ostriches and the South American rheas, which
latter frequently breed in the Garden.
The pheasantries, which contain more than twenty pens, are occupied by
such varieties as the Amherst pheasant from Thibet, Elliot’s pheasant
from China, the Versicolor from Japan.
We now come to the great aviary, part of which holds the scarlet ibis
and the rare stilts, and the other half contains peacocks and large
game-birds. In front of the large aviary are the pens of the doves and
partridges. Facing the pheasantries is a statue of Daubenton, by Jules
Godin Daubenton, who died in Paris in 1880. It was to the efforts
of this scientist that France owes the introduction of merino sheep.
This beautiful statue is placed opposite the sheep pens, so that the
gentleman can still have his eye on the Ty-ang or Chinese sheep, the
grey sheep of Russia, and the Astrakan sheep, which furnishes such
a beautiful fur. Not far from here is some rock work executed by M.
Teiton, through which runs a little river. Every day at a fixed hour
the cormorants are made to fish. The throat of this bird is encircled
by a collar, which prevents it from swallowing the fish which it has
caught at the bottom of the water. In China these birds are used
extensively for fishing.
On the right, following the pheasantries, we come to the poultry house,
a monolith building in mortar in a semicircular shape. Here are to
be found the following among many other varieties: La Flèche, Mans,
Houdan, Bresse, Campine, Dorking, Cochin China, Langshan, Brahma, etc.
The eggs form an important article of commerce in the Garden. The pens
of the poultry house also contain the largest collection of pigeons
ever brought together. Mention must be made of the carrier pigeons,
the descendants of those birds which during the Siege of Paris carried
no less than 115,000 messages microscopically photographed on bits of
collodion which weighed next to nothing.
On the edge of the lake is a large and elegant pigeon tower, made of
brick and iron, 30 metres high and 6 metres in diameter, and divided
into four stages. The interior is divided into coops for 400 couples
of pigeons. The top is reserved for those pigeons which, born in the
place, are allowed their liberty, and are employed in summer to carry
messages. The top of the tower is furnished with a meteorological
apparatus, which records on registering cylinders (placed at the bottom
of the tower) the state of the atmosphere. This apparatus constitutes
a veritable observatory in itself. In it there is a barometer, a
thermometer, a rain-gauge, a wind-gauge, a hygrometer, and several
other instruments.
The kangaroo house next engages our attention, where are to be found
examples of the red kangaroo, Bennet’s Wallaby, etc. Many breed here.
The enclosures which surround the kangaroos contain many species of
deer. There is the deer from the Moluccas, sika deer from Japan, the
axis deer from India, etc. Close by are coach-houses and stables
capable of holding ninety horses. These recently erected buildings,
together with the old stables, can now hold 250 horses, which form
a very complete collection. Here are to be seen also an interesting
series of ponies from Java, Siam, Cochin China, Shetland, Ireland,
Russia, Corsica, Navarre, Finland, etc. There are also many mules.
At the end of the stables is a riding-school for the breaking-in of
horses and the teaching of riding. In 1874 a special riding-school was
inaugurated for children, their mounts being all little ponies. Close
to the stables is a gymnasium, with horizontal bars, trapeze, ropes,
etc., which is for the free use of children, who amuse themselves in
it whilst they wait their turn to ride the elephants and camels. The
charge for a camel or dromedary ride is 50 centimes; elephant ride, 25
centimes; ostrich-cart, 50 centimes; donkey-cart, trotting zebu-cart,
goat-cart, and llama-cart, 25 centimes; saddle-horse, 50 centimes.
Tickets are obtained at a kiosk close by.
The African elephant Juliette was a present from Victor Emmanuel, the
late King of Italy, together with Romeo, who died in 1886. It will be
remembered that these elephants replaced Castor and Pollux, which were
sold to the butchers for 27,000 francs during the Siege of Paris in
1870. Close to the large stable is a house containing the yaks from
Thibet. The cross between a yak and a zebu is called a ‘dzo.’ In the
large stables are to be seen the South American tapirs and the wart
hogs from Africa. Burchell’s zebra and a pretty ‘mountain’ zebra are
found in the same building. By the side of the zebras are the kiangs
from High Asia and Mongolia. There are also many hybrid animals and
100 guinea-pigs in one loose-box. The right side of the big stables
is inhabited by a large giraffe; this is the last survivor of a herd
received from Abyssinia in 1872, which has bred several times in the
Garden.
On the other side of the main road is a large lawn, which serves during
the day to pasture the large ruminants. Here are held the yearly
exhibitions.
The following exhibitions have been held: In 1877, the Eskimos and
Nubians; in 1878, the Laps and Russians; in 1879, the Nubians; in 1883,
the Cingalese and Red Indians; in 1886, the Cingalese; in 1887, the
Ashantis; in 1888, the Hottentots, Cossacks, and Circassians; in 1889,
the Laps and Norwegians; in 1890, the Somalis; in 1891, the Dahomeans.
We next come to the llama house, which includes specimens of guanaco
and vicuna, the llama and alpaca. The reindeer enclosure follows.
Behind this, again, are the moufflon and chamois rocks; a grotto cut
out of the rock shelters the goats from Chili. Below the rock are
lodged the graceful Indian antelopes. Between the rock and the aquarium
is a construction with a deep basin, in which live the otters and
seals. The otters, which were presented in 1891, are very tame. At the
word of command they hop up to the top of a rock and take headers into
the water. Opposite the otters’ tank is the cow house, holding forty
cows, the little dairy at the side being much frequented during summer,
when as many as a thousand glasses of milk are sold in a day. Close by
the dairy is a picturesque enclosure of lawn and rockwork, inhabited by
a herd of over twenty black buck of all ages. It was an amusing sight
to watch them frisking and scampering about after the manner of the
springbock of Africa.
The aquarium, situated on the right beyond the dairy, contains ten
large tanks of sea-water and four tanks of fresh-water. These basins
are made of slate, with one side of glass. They receive light only from
above, and in them are to be seen the octopus, shrimps, anemones, soles
and plaice. Many of the fish grow tame to a remarkable degree, and know
their keeper well.
At the end of the aquarium is the fish-culture pavilion, in which one
sees in transparent tanks a very complete collection of fresh-water
fish and the most perfect apparatus in connection with fish culture.
Every year the establishment incubates a considerable number of salmon
spawn. Visitors can follow the operations of artificial fertilization
of several species of trout, including the American rainbow trout.
After the aquarium, in front of the concert kiosk, we find the
restaurant, where we can have refreshments at fixed prices under large
trees.
[Illustration: HERD OF BLACKBUCK, JARDIN D’ACCLIMATATION, PARIS.]
Facing the aquarium is a large glass enclosure surrounding the antelope
house, in which can be seen the Indian nylgai, which breeds well; the
eland, looking amongst the trees as if it was in its native haunts; the
gnu, which looks half ox, half horse; the _Oryx beisa_ from Kordofan;
a gazelle from the Soudan. And then comes a surprise, for in the same
pen with several Patagonian cavies are no less than four hartebeests,
one of which was born in the Gardens, August 15, 1901. Next we come to
the deer house, with the wapiti from America, the axis deer from Siam,
Père David’s deer, and others.
On the other side of the main drive, and opposite the deer, is a
large dog-kennel, containing dogs of every description. Here a large
exhibition has been held every year since 1863, and dogs can be bought
at fixed prices.
Facing the dog-kennels is a special library, given to the Garden by Dr.
W. Evans, of Philadelphia, where are to be found all the papers and
publications on agriculture, zoology, travel, domestic economy, etc.
In one of the rooms in this building all the Parisian newspapers and
magazines are on view.
The pond, which divides the Garden into two nearly equal parts,
contains ducks of all kinds, swans, and pelicans. On the left bank of
the pond is the concert kiosk, where good concerts are given from April
till the end of September by an orchestra of twenty-four performers
under M. Mayeur, of the Opéra, who has conducted it since 1872.
Many of the puppies and birds in the Garden are for sale at fixed
prices. I quote the following from the catalogue:
Stud Fee. Puppies (Average).
Francs. Francs.
Great Danes 50 100
Pomeranians 10 40
Bull-terriers 20 40
Basset hounds 25 50
English setters 50 120
Red Irish setters 50 100
Cocker spaniels 50 50
English greyhounds 30 75
Bloodhounds 30 60
Hares (white) old ones: Male, 25 francs; female, 35 francs; young, 15
and 25 francs each.
Rabbits: Adults, 15 francs; young, 10 francs.
Paroquets, from 40 francs to 150 francs.
Parrots, from 10 francs to 75 francs.
Canaries, 17.50 francs.
Toucans, 150 francs.
Ordinary crow (white variety), 20 francs.
Pigeons, from 3 francs to 100 francs.
Wild poultry, from 8.50 to 20 francs.
Turkeys, 30 francs.
Pheasants, from 20 to 150 francs.
Red partridge, 12.50 francs.
Domestic poultry: Bantams, 20 francs; Brahmapootras, 30 francs;
Cochins, 30 francs; English gamecocks, 50 francs; Dorkings, 30 francs;
Houdans, 15 francs.
Rose-coloured flamingoes, 125 francs.
Ducks, from 15 francs to 75 francs.
Cormorants, 75 francs.
Swans, from 25 francs to 275 francs.
Pelicans, 125 francs.
Domestic ducks: Aylesbury, 17.50 francs; Labrador, 12.50 francs;
Rouen, 20 francs; Yeddo, 30 francs.
Loch Leven trout, rainbow trout, salmon, etc., are for sale.
This is a very large and beautifully laid out Garden, and I was allowed
to photograph in peace, though, oddly enough, I had no sooner got
outside the wood than I was pounced upon by a gendarme and asked to
explain the contents of ‘that box.’