warm by a couple of small portable oil-stoves, similar to those used for heating bedrooms—these are more convenient and less costly than a fixed gas-stove. Every cage should communicate with a separate out-door run (which need not be very large), and thus every animal can get its share of fresh air. Wirework, painted black, allows the animals to be seen better than the same material galvanized and unpainted; for this purpose Brunswick black is the best application, being cheap, drying quickly, and non-poisonous. Sawdust should be freely sprinkled over the floor of the cages. It has many advantages, being cheap, warm to the animal's feet, absorbent, deodorant, and innocuous if inadvertently swallowed. The feeding and drinking vessels should be unspillable, and if made of zinc will be non-absorbent, and not liable to rust.
In conclusion, it may be stated that this essay has touched merely upon the fringe of a highly interesting but sadly neglected subject, and that there are many other animals which can be obtained and easily kept—Mongooses, Agoutis, Badgers, Raccoons, and the like. It is to be hoped that amongst the host of zoological pursuits which nowadays attract the attention of enthusiasts, the study of captive Mammalia may eventually take its due place. Already the extensive breeding of Silver Foxes in confinement for the sake of their fur indicates a step in this direction; and although this is a business matter undertaken for the sake of profit, it is surely not too much to expect that in this era of progress some will undertake for the sake of science alone a pursuit so fascinating, so interesting, and so novel as the systematic observation of living Mammalia.
