170 AXNTJAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 60 



The total number of visitors stopping in the police station for 

 information of various sorts was 13,262. First aid was given (prin- 

 cipally for minor accidents such as bee stings or scraped knees) to 

 1,107 persons. Fifteen pairs of unclaimed eyeglasses and sunglasses 

 were sent to the Society for the Prevention of Blindness, and six 

 bags of unclaimed clothing and miscellaneous articles were turned 

 over to the Goodwill Industries. 



BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS 



No funds were appropriated for new construction, and the regular 

 maintenance work of patching and painting old buildings was carried 

 on throughout the year. A number of minor improvements, however, 

 were carried out. 



A 5-ton air conditioner was installed in the feed bam for the 

 Alaskan reindeer, and an overhead sprinkler was built in a corner of 

 their outside yard. This shower bath runs contmuously, and the 

 reindeer obviously enjoy it, as one or more animals can usually be 

 seen standing under it. While a fine spray of water cools their backs, 

 they stretch their necks, tilt their heads up, and with open mouths 

 snap at the drops of water. 



A complete rewiring of the reptile house was completed, and re- 

 wiring and a new system of lighting were installed in the monkey 

 house. Pilot models of radiant heat were put in the floors of tliree 

 shelters for hoofed stock. 



A shelter, constructed in 1893 for a small herd of llamas and used 

 in recent years for elk, was remodeled into a stable for the tliree police 

 horses. 



The murals in the Zoo Park Restaurant were given a thorough 

 cleaning under the supervision of the artist Domenico Mortellito, of 

 Wilmington, Del. The murals, designed by Mr. Mortellito in 1940 on 

 carved, lacquered battleship linoleum, depict Noah's Ark above the 

 fireplace and animals marching two by two around all four walls. 

 They had darkened through the years, but may now be seen in their 

 original glowing colors. 



The work of the gardener's force consisted mainly of removing 

 dead trees, which are a menace to both animals and visitors, and re- 

 placing them with young trees. In all, 226 trees were cut down, and 

 153 were limbed and topped. Stands of grass in several enclosures 

 were thriving before the animals were moved in, and efforts are now 

 being made to maintain the grass. Work continued on the new serv- 

 ice road, with grading, ditching, and general maintenance, and the 

 bank has been terraced with logs, brush reforesting, and grass seeding. 

 Vines, weeds, and trees on or around two-thirds of the Zoo boundary 

 were cut and trimmed. A nursery consisting of nearly 5,000 young 



