36 REPORT CF THE SECRETARY. 



When the land was bought it was thought desirable to include as 

 great a length of Eock Creek as possible with sufficient width of 

 ground to attord large, retired paddocks. 



The park has an area of nearly 107 acres, with an ample supply of 

 water for lakes, i^onds, and inclosures, while the varied and picturesque 

 character of tlie banks of the cieek attbrds a variety of exposure and 

 of ett'ect delightful to all lovers of* natural landscape. 



There are as yet but four perinaneut buildings and the animals num- 

 ber 510, of which 200 are of the larger size. 



Comparing this with similar establishments at other capitals, it may 

 be noted that the Gardens of the Zoological Society, in Regent's 

 Park, London, established about 68 years ago, cover about 36 acres of 

 mere open common, crowded with buildings, and that the magnificent 

 collection of animals, some 2,300 in number, is housed in a fairly com- 

 fortable manner. 



In Paris the portion of the Jardin des Plantes assigned to animals 

 is a plat of ground some 17 acres in extent, laid out tastefully, with 

 all the resources of the landscape gardener, but necessarily crowded 

 with its 900 animals. 



In Berlin the portion of the Thiergarten appropriated for animals 

 occupies about 60 acres. The buildings are ornamental and substantial. 

 Fifteen hundred animals are accommodated and, necessarily, much 

 overcrowded. The landscai^e features are almost wholly subordinated. 



In the United States the pinncipal collections are in Philadelphia, 

 where the grounds occupy about 40 acres and the collection comprises 

 881 animals; in Cincinnati, where 36 acres are occupied with about 800 

 animals ; and in ISTew York, where the city maintains about 700 animals 

 in Central Park, occupying an area of approximately 10 acres. In none 

 of these collections are the grounds of sufficient size to give any exten- 

 sive range for the animals. 



The accompanying diagram shows the size of the ^National Zoological 

 Park compared with those of London, Paris, and Berlin. 



I ought not to close these remarks Avithout calling attention to the 

 evidence of the use of these gardens by the public. Even in their 

 present inchoate condition they have received as many as 30,000 visit- 

 itors in a single day. The ground constitutes a park so adjacent to 

 the city as to be accessible on foot to all, and an expression which has 

 been used elsewhere may be applied with no less justness here in 

 describing this park as the lungs of the city. 



The natural advantages possessed by the IS'ational Zoological Park 

 are unrivaled. I am not aware that any city has a zoological park of 

 such extent, so picturesquely situated, and so easily accessible. It 

 is possible here to provide almost any exposure which animals may 

 require, to give them large paddocks with abundant sliade and seclu- 

 sion, or to furnish for waterfowl and other aquatic animals lakes, ponds, 

 and long reaches of water, where they can live in almost perfect natu- 



