THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



479 



school system of New York by pro- 

 viding material for biological classes 

 and in other ways. 



The Zoological Park has during the 

 year greatly enlarged its buildings and 

 its collections. The city provided $85,- 

 000 for maintenance, which is this 

 year increased to about $105,000. The 

 board of estimate and apportionment 

 last year made a special appropriation 

 of $250,000 for the improvement and 

 extension of the park, which was used 

 for the making of paths, etc., and 



ture of the building is a studio for 

 artists, which will encourage painters 

 and sculptors to make studies of ani- 

 mal life. 



The lion house was opened in Feb- 

 ruary; a new antelope house, costing 

 $50,000, will soon be ready. The sum 

 j of $25,000 has been subscribed chiefly 

 I for the increase of the collections and 

 valuable gifts have been received. The 

 society pays special attention to scien- 

 tific work, having established a patho- 

 | logical laboratory and appointed scien- 





Main Hall of Lion House. 



for the construction of several build- 

 ings. The most important of these is 

 the lion house, erected at a cost of 

 $150,000. We give views of the inte- 

 rior of the main hall, which is 192 feet 

 in length, and of one of the cages, 

 which is 18x22 feet in size. It will 

 be noticed that the cages are enclosed 

 with netting instead of with bars. 

 The cages are covered with glass tiling 

 of a dull jungle green color, which 

 forms an excellent background for the 

 display of the animals and has many 

 sanitary advantages. A unique fea- 



tific curators in place of the usual 

 keepers. The park was visited last 

 year by 731,515 persons, in spite of its 

 present inaccessible position ; when the 

 rapid transit system is completed, the 

 attendance will doubtless be doubled or 

 trebled. 



SCIENTIFIC ITEMS. 

 We record with regret the deaths of 

 Dr. H. E. Schunk, F.R.S., the British 

 chemist; of the Rev. Dr. Henry W. 

 Watson, F.R.S., known for his contri- 

 butions to mathematics and physics; of 



