Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-30
A MENAGERlE KITCHEN.
RE PHILADELPHIA zoo EAT,

#a.,,sr.,trs Facts About she Appeti,es OF
v,d ApimsI.- Horse.Mest and How Pre-
Philadelphia Ledger,l
M 1--WE feed our animals almost en-
sircly upon horse.Hesh," said ex-Keep-
e. Dickinson, now butcher at the
I - Zoo" "Somc Of The horses are
presented to ms, but most Of them are
bought at rates varying from about 80
10 &c. There is = mistaken idea that
Abe greater part Of the animals we kill
arc brOken.down street-car horses We
ct them from nearly all walks Of
horse life. Many Of them arc FAT when
8 4hey come 10 us. There are people
4 who have been the posSessOrs Of horses
for dozen or = score of years, aud
who, when 1t becomes necessary TO part
with them. prefer letting us take the
animal rather than see them 60 to work
in places where they might not be gen.
Ally treated in their old age.
awe kill, on sn average, about three
horses n week. Some come from points
ten or twelve miles from the city. A
large number Of them are knuckled,'
the Joint above the. hoof having been
strained. Occasionally we find oppOr-
tunities to buy beef that is garlicky,
but horse-meat is more relished than
beef by our wild animals. 1t is jucier.
i think that in winter there is little diff
ference between the taste of horso-hesh
and that Of beef, except that the former
is little sweetcr. Our carnivora cat
more in winter than summer"
Among our animals that eat the
LorSc-mcat are the lions, tigers, pumas,
lcorards, jaguar, hyenas, ascelot,
wolves, foxes, badgers, skunks, eagles,
owls, yultures. and condor. About
once a month we give some Of the meat
10 the bears. They would eat it oftener,
but there is too much strength in it for
animals in captivity. About 22j pounds
of meat are eaten every day by the ami
mails in the garden during the summer.
In winter that quantity is exceeded
None Of our carnivorOus animals
are fed more than once day, the time
being $3.50 o'clock. They would prob
ably like to eat oftener, but by our
present system We keep their appetites
in good condition, and as far as possible
prevent disease. A full-grown lion or
tiger eats from twelve to fifteen pounds
a dav. The best Of the meat is given
to the lions, tigers. leopards, pumas,
jsguar, etc, and the inferior qualities
10 the wolves, hyenas, dingoS, eagles,
etc. From three to six pounds day
ore eaten by leopard, jaguar, or
puma. The fifteen animals in the lion
and tiger-house consume from 100 to
1875 pounds day. The food given to
the hyenas is mainly bone. They grind
the bones to powder and swallow all
OF II. The meat given them is gen.
orally the shin and other tough parts.
Little or none Of the dressed horse
goes to waste. In preparing food for
birds. for instance. we chop the rib
bones and meat all mp together. The
ground bone answers the purpose Of
gravel in the birds stomach. Soft
bone, ground up ale given to the quad
rupcds whenever such food is necessary
40 put their stomachs in good condi-
ton. Ina their wild state many Of these
animals howl and howl all night. In
captivity they generally sleep all night,
because their hunger is regularly ap-
pesSed. In a state Of nature they are
sometime obliged to 20 ten days with
out food, and when they get it they
gorge themselves"
AFTER TIE MANNER OF \ CAT.
An our animals of the cat kind eat
Just as a cat does, lying on their breast
and holding the meat between their
paws. The young male lion eats very
slowly, but the female finishes her meal
IN about fifteen minutes, of which time
about five minutes are spent on the
bone. The lions leave the bones almost
n clean ss if the meat had been boiled
and peeled Off. do not believe that if
one Of these lions got into the streets
he would think Of attacking anybody
unless struck or run against. think
hc would be frightened. If they were
not well cared for and fed the case
woIld be different.
The puma Johnnie in the north
EN- cage is an expert rat-catcher. If
rat ventures into that cage he is gone.
Johnnie apparently doing and ut
tcrly Indifferent to everything around
him, will lie waiting until the rat gets
hey the line Of safety, and then he
pounces upon it with unerriDg aim.
have seen him 20 for dozens of rats
and never saw him miss one.
Rats are very numerous under the
yllcanitc pavement Of the carnivora
Sometimes half dozen or
more are seen at once running about !
the floor while visitors are in the build !
ing. The pavement rests upon foun-
dation Of broken stones and gravel, !
which were tightly rammed, but the
rats have honeycombod the place. We
tried ferretS, and tried in vain. If /
arrct were put in hole he would push /
ahead until he came out at another /
point. but. meanwhile, rat that was
ahead Of him might have escaped by |
one Of the many branches Of that pas
sage. Traps cannot do their work fast 4
enough 10 eXtcrminate the rats. We /
cannot use poison, because the rats
would go into the holes and die there
No animals are watched with more
interest during meal-time at the Zoo"
than the snakes. Meal-time in the
IS nearly all the time. The
water mCccaSin. yenom0uS snake, lies
on rocky formation in his glass tank,
with his head lowered near the water,
in which are swimming frogs and small
fishes. When he wants lunch the
moccasin erects his poisonous fanGs,
and with them strikes his victim. The
snake holds fast TO the latter during
the few minutes required for the poison