s of iron, old boiler
plates, under his magic touch, are also turned into the most useful
things. For instance, the steam hammer used in the government workshop
is rigged on steel columns from the debris of an engine room of a
wrecked vessel. The hammer is the crank of a disused shaft of a cotton
machine, the anvil is from an old "monkey," that drove the piles for
the Suakim landing stage in 1884; the two cylinders are from an effete
ice machine, and the steam and exhaust pipes come from a useless
locomotive of the old railway. A lathe, a beautiful piece of
workmanship, is fashioned out of one of the guns found at Tamai. And
the building which covers these useful implements was erected by this
clever engineer in the Sirdar's service, who had utilized the rails of
the old Suakim-Berber line as girders for its roof, and, in my humble
opinion, this is probably the very best purpose for which they can be
used.

* * * * *

TAPIRS IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN AT BRESLAU.

A fine pair of shabrack (Tapirus indicus) and another pair of American
tapirs (Tapirus americanus) constitute the chief attraction of the
house devoted to pachyderms in the Zoological Garden at Breslau, and
interest in this section of the garden has recently been greatly
enhanced by the appearance of a healthy young shabrack. This is only
the second time that a shabrack tapir has been born in captivity in
Europe, and as the other one, which was born in the Zoological Garden
at Hamburg, did not live many days, but few knew of its existence;
consequently, little or nothing is known of the care and development
of the young of this species, although they are so numerous in their
native lands. Farther India, Southwestern China and the neighboring
large islands, where they also do well in captivity. The tapir was not
known until the beginning of this century, and even now it is a great
rarity in the European animal market, and as the greatest care is
required to keep it alive for any length of time in captivity, it is
seldom seen in zoological gardens; therefore, the fact that the
shabrack tapirs in the Breslau garden have not only lived, but their
number has increased, is so much more remarkable.

[Illustration: SHABRACK TAPIR WITH YOUNG ONE (FIVE DAYS OLD) IN THE
BRESLAU ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN. FROM DRAWING BY ERICH SUCKOW.]

Our engraving shows that the five days old tapir resembles its mother
in form, although its marking is