The
movable aviaries are too numerous to describe; but we must notice, in one
of them, a fine pair of Great Crowned Pigeons from New Guinea; their front
colour is a bright slate, as is that of their crests of fine silky
feathers. We next pass the circular Confectionary room, and reach the
curvilinear glazed building of 300 feet in diameter. (_See the Cut_.) This
has been planned by Mr. Henry Phillips; of the execution we spoke in _The
Mirror_, No. 528. There are four entrances to this well-contrived building.
Immediately within the wall, and all throughout the circle, is a channel
of water containing gold and silver fish; from the margin of which plants
are to be trained up within the glass. Next is a circular range of seats,
then a broad walk, and in the centre of the building are placed the cages
of carnivorous quadrupeds, as Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Hyaenas, &c. The
Lions are especially worth notice: they are African and Asiatic, and the
contrast between a pair from the country of the Persian Gulf with their
African neighbours, is very striking. A sleek Lynx from Persia, with its
exquisite tufted ears, and a docile Puma, will receive the distant
caresses of visiters. The fronts of the cages are ornamented with painted
rock-work, and our artist has endeavoured to convey an idea of the lordly
Lion in his embellished dwelling.
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