1908. Proctedings of Irish Societies. 61 



W. E. Peebles, while Professor Mettam discharged again the function of 

 prosector, and furnished the Council with most valuable reports on the 

 post-mortem examinations made by him. The Honorary Secretary repre- 

 sented the Societ}' during the year at the International Zoological 

 Congress in Boston, and subsequently visited the Zoological Gardens in 

 New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, where he was most courteously 

 received by the authorities in charge. 



The Council are particularly indebted to Messrs. Palgrave, Murphy 

 and Co. and the City of Dublin Steam Ship Company, for the generous 

 arrangements they have made in connection with the transit of 

 animals. 



One of the most important structural additions made during the year 

 was the building of series of open-air cages designed by Mr. C J. 

 M'Carthy for the large Carnivora, such as hyaenas, wolves and pumas, 

 for which species accommodation had always been rather deficient. 

 The cages occup}- the site between the Aquarium and the Llama and 

 Giraffe enclosure. They are partly covered with a corrugated iron roof, 

 and the sleeping dens are placed in a passage to the rear, from which 

 the cleaning operations take place. 



The second large structure which w^as undertaken during the past 

 year, and which has only been completed last December, is the new 

 Seal enclosure. A member of the Society, Mr. John Kincaid, initiated 

 this useful addition by generously contributing towards the expenses of 

 erection. The enclosure is situated close to and below the old seal pond. 

 It consists of an extensive ornamental wall of rockwork, with three 

 fenced-in divisions containing concreted ponds. These can be used for 

 various kinds of aquatic animals such as the Californian Seals, our native 

 Seals, and others. 



During the coming year the Council propose to rebuild the old Lion 

 house, and, if possible, to effect various improvements in the existing 

 structures. 



For years past the state of the lake proved to be an eyesore to the 

 frequenters of the Gardens in the summer, owing to its slimyness and 

 green colour. This condition was found to be due to the enormous 

 growth of algse. At Dr. Scriven's suggestion the experiment was tried 

 to kill the algte by means of sulphate of copper, which has already proved 

 so beneficial to agriculture in the destruction of fungoid growth on 

 plants. After calculating the amount of w^ater contained in the lake by 

 measuring the depth and superficial area, il was easily ascertainable 

 what strength of the salt could be applied without injury to the birds, 

 fish, and other creatures frequenting the lake. The correct quantity of 

 sulphate of copper was then filled into a large sack and tied to the end 

 of a boat, which was rowed several times round the lake. The next day 

 the lake was bright red, due to the floating masses of dead algse ; but a 

 day or two after the water became absolutely clear, such as it had never 

 been before, and myriads of minute crustaceans, worms, and water snails 

 could be seen crawling about quite uninjured, while the algae had all 

 fallen to the bottom. Thus the experiment proved a perfect success. 



