38 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



A map of the park, sbowiug tbe location and quantity of each lot, 

 was filed in tbe public records of tbe District of Columbia. On exam 

 ination of tbe list it will be seen tbat for 131.14 acres an agreement 

 was effected with tbe owners as to tbe sum to be paid. For 34.49 

 acres no sucb agreement could be made, and tbe Commission therefore 

 took the course prescribed by the act of March 2, 1889, for this con- 

 tingency, and petitioned the Supreme Court of the District to assess 

 the value of the land. This was done by three appraisers appointed 

 by tbe Court, and the finding of the appraisers was approved by the 

 President of the United States. At the close of tbe year title deeds had 

 already passed for the greater portion of tbe property. 

 The site thus selected is, it is believed, admirably suited for the purpose 

 for which it is designed. Situated at a convenient distance from tbe 

 city in a region of remarkable natural beauty, it has a surface of great 

 variety, offering unusual advantages of varied exposure for animals re- 

 quiring different treatment. While some portions still retain the origi- 

 nal forest, others are cleared or covered bj^ a dense second growth of 

 pine, excellent for cover and producing couditions similar to those of 

 the natural haunts of many of the animals it is proposed to preserve. 

 An abundant supply of water is furnished to tbe lower portions by Eock 

 Creek, a small perennial stream that during freshets swells to consid- 

 erable size, and at intervals of years, to rare but destructive floods. 

 A number of small runlets or '' branches " fall into the creek giving an 

 'effective drainage to all parts of the park. Tbe system of water ways 

 has for the most part been cut by erosion, so tbat tbe bill-sides and 

 valleys usually present smooth, rounded slopes, practicablefor roads and 

 walks ; yet this is agreeably varied at several places by an outcrojiping 

 of the underlying rock, giving a somewhat bolder character. 



In the Appendix will be found a map showing the situation of the 

 Zoological Park with reference to the city of Washington, and follow- 

 ing it a second map giving, on a somewhat larger scale, the outline of 

 the park and its principal topographical features. 



Having obtained the site it became necessary to procure means for 

 the organization and maintenance of the. park. Tbe Commission ac- 

 cordingly, under date of January 16, 189U, addressed a letter to Con- 

 gress, concluding with the following words: 



Before the expiration of. tbe present fiscal year the Zoological Park 

 Commission will have completed tbe duties with which it was charged 

 by the act of Congress which called it into existence, and the title to 

 the lands it has purchased will be vested in the United States. Pend- 

 ing the completion of the condemnation proceedings now in progress, 

 and the submission of a final report, it is extremely desirable that Con- 

 gress should enact further legislation in regard to the park. The Com- 

 mission has no autliority to put up fences and lay out roads or grounds, 

 or to erect buildings, nor is it even certain tbat it has the right to ac- 

 cept donations. Tbe park is declared by Congress to be " for the ad- 

 vancement of science and the instruction and recreation of tbe people." 

 In the construction of ponds and lakes, and the erection of iuclosures 



