Grass Valley telegraph., 1856-05-13
A visit to the geological Gardens.

"A Visit to the Geological Gardens.
MoNKEYs,-A writer in the London Quar-
terly Review fer January, describing visit
to the Geological Gardens of London, thus
speaks of the monkeys =
The admirably arranged, but vilely ven
tilated monkey-house is atwaysa great SOURCE
of attraction. The mixture of fun and 90
IemuIry, lAE odd tltlts and tElc
the human Expression of their co1ntenances,
all tend to attract, and at the same time to
<epel Mr.. Rogers used to say, that visiting
them was like going to see ones poor rela-
tions, and Woundrous shabby old fellows
some of them appear. We have only to look
into their faces for a moment to see that
they differ from each other as much as the
faces of mankind. There is large, long
haired, llack-faced rascal, who looks as mur-
derous as Malay a little way off we see
another with great bushy whiskers and shag-
gy eyebrows the mona the very picture of
a successful horse-dealer !; a third, with his
long nose and keen eye, has all the air ola
crafty old lawyer. The contemplation of
them brings involuntarily to the mind the
doctrine of the transmigration of souls The
apes and balloons are indeed purely brutal
and only excite disgust towards the latter
Is the whole company of smaller monkeys eX-
press the utmost hatred-as may be seen
when the keeper by way of fun takes one of
them cut of his cage and walks him down the
room. The whole population rush to the
front of their cages, and hoOt, growl, and
chatter at him, as only Eastern County share
holders can do when their chairman takes his
seat. The vIvacious little capuchn monkeys
are evidently the favOrites and bag most of
the nuts the brown capuchin appears to be
HqrtlonIQFlU ha II IL
BILE at hand, and, when he finds that his teeth
are not equal to the task, he taps the nut
with the stone with just sufficient force to
break the she'll without brusing the kernel.
We have often seen this little fellow take
pinch Of snuff, and assduously rub his own
and companions skin with it, with full
knowledge, no doubt, of the old receipt for
killing fleas. He will also make use of an
onion for a similar purpose. Among the
other Cuadrumana in this house. We find the
lemurs, which look more like long-legged
weasels than monkeys, aud the bright-faced
little marmosets, who cluster inquiringly to
the front Of their cage, looking in their cap
shaped headdress of fur like so many gossips
quizzing you over the window-blinds.
SNAKEs.-In another part of his coummu-
nicaton The writer gives an account OF bis
Nlel9 W IuS 1lGHbllG 11OuSS.
"Unless the visitor selects his time, he viii
generally find little to amuSe him here The
great snakes have either retired from public
life under their blankets. or lie coiled upon
the branches of the trees in their dens The
reptiles are offered food once week, but
will not always feed even at this intervai.--
One huge python tasted the almost incredible
time of twenty-five months, having probably
prepared himself for his abstinence by a
splendid gorge. After fast of seven days,
however the majority of the serpents regain
their appetites. Three clock is the feeding
time, and the reptiles which are on the look
out seem to know full we'll the errand of the
man who enters with the basket, against the
side of which they hear the futtering wings
of the feathered victims, and the short stamp
of the doomed rabbits. The keeper opens
the door at the back of the den Of the volu-
minous serpents on our right-for of these
there is no fear takes off their blanket, and
drops in upon the clatteriag pebbles scam
pering rabbit, who hops from side to side, Gu
rious to inspect his new habitation present
ly satisfied, he sits on his launches, and leis-
urely begins to wash his face. Silently the
rock-snake glides over the stones, uncurling
his huge folds, which like cable seem to
move as from some agency from without,
looks for an instant upon his unconscious
victim, and the next has seized him with his
cruel jaws His constructing folds are twist
ed as swiftly as whip-lash round his Shrek
ing prey, and for ten minutes the serpent lies
still, maintaining his mortal knot until his
prey is dead, when. selling him by the ears,
he draws him through bis vice-Iike grip,
crushing every bone, and elongating the
body preparatory to devouring it. The boa
and the rock-snake always swallow their
prey head-toremost. How is that fine neck
and delicate head to make room for that
bulky rabbit thinks the spectator. Pres
emily ne sees the jaws cape, and slowly the
reptile dT0acS hana~eB OCer, rather than swal-
lows, his prey. as you draw stocking upon
your leg. The huge lump descends lower
and lower beneath the speckled scales, which
seem to stare with distension, and the mon-
ster coils himself up once more to digest his
meal in quiet. Rabbits and pigeons form the
food of the pythons in these Gardens. While
the smaller birds are preyed upon in the rem
tile-house, their big brothers, the storks in
the paddock, are reciprocating the law by
eating snakes. AS we pass to the opposite
side of the serpent room, where the venomous
kinds are kept, we perceive that more eau
tious arrangement is made for feeding. The
door opens at the top instead of at the sides
of their dens and with good reason, for no
sooner does Lne keeper remove With crook
ed iron rod the blanket from the cobra, than
the reptile springs, with an inflated hood, in
to an S-like attitude and darts laterally at
his enemy. 1t seems incapable of striking
well any object above or below it's level /;
watch, for instance, that guinea-pig; again
and again he dashes at it, but misses his aim;
now ne hits it, but only to drive the poor
frightened creature with score of flying
pebbles before him: when at last he succeeds
in piercing the sides of his victim, tetanic
spasms Immediately commence, and it dies
convulsed in very few seconds 1t is said
by those who have watched the venomous