80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 



feet of ground which is now of little use and make available a 

 further 25,000 square feet of ground at the ravine. This will elimi- 

 nate a dangerous curve in the automobile road. 



Repairs to antelope house. — Practically the whole west side of the 

 antelope house needs reconstruction. The building is over 20 years 

 old and the timbers and other woodwork on the west side are almost 

 beyond repair. When the work is undertaken the walls should be 

 fixed properly with concrete and the cages considerably enlarged. 

 It is estimated that an expenditure of about $2,000 will be necessary 

 to put this building in good condition. 



Adams Mill Road grade and stairway. — The work of grading 

 Adams Mill Road between Clydesdale Place and Harvard Street, 

 recently commenced by the District, will make necessary some ex- 

 penditure on the part of the park to care for the resulting fill above 

 the stairway and walk leading into the park from the Adams Mill 

 Road gates. At present it is impossible to estimate the exact amount 

 of work that will be needed, but it is probable that a new bridge 

 and walk will have to be built at one point, with a substantial re- 

 taining wall at the base of the fill for the safety of the public. A 

 very narrow strip of land between Adams Mill Road and the park, 

 from Clydesdale Place to Ontario Road, still in private ownership, 

 should be added to the park for the protection of this point. 



Additional lake for waterfowl. — Exhibits of waterfowl are among 

 the most popular and instructive features of the park. An additional 

 lake, to be used for the birds in summer and for skating in winter, 

 could be built at comparatively small expense on the open flat near 

 the Harvard Street entrance. 



Aviary building. — The need of a new house for the exhibition of 

 birds has been felt for some years and is becoming more pressing 

 because of the greatly increased numbers of visitors now cared for 

 in the park. Such a building should be provided with commodious 

 public space. The aisles in the old bird house are far too narrow 

 for the crowds of the present day, and the exhibition of birds, 

 important and valuable as it is, can not be properly displayed. 



Reptile house. — A public exhibition building, properly constructed 

 and equipped for the display of reptiles and amphibians, would be 

 greatly appreciated by visitors. The small collection of reptiles now 

 kept in inadequate and wholly unsuited quarters in the lion house 

 is very popular. The reptile house should be planned to show in 

 natural environment the various types of reptiles of economic im- 

 portance, those sought and used for food, and those feared by man 

 in many countries. The educational value of such a building could 

 be developed to a point of great importance. 



Outdoor quarters for mammals. — Many species of mammals, espe- 

 cially some of the larger carnivores, now kept in cages in heated 



