70 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL, SOCIETY 
feeding voluntarily may possibly be a disappointment to our vis- 
itors, owing to the novel spectacle on the days the python was 
forcibly fed. 
Two additional specimens of the regal python, each about 
twenty feet long, were purchased during the past year. 
CENSUS OF REPTILES, DECEMBER 31, 1908. 
Cheloniave. Phas Rai 3a. ash evan aoe 44 352 
CGrocodiliamiis) Gas ther ce alee ace 3 62 
IE AeCertil i arene sees ace see ate eee 39 241 
(Oo) cA EIN Rasta tree lle Rane ten eon 77 340 
Babrachiag Wins Batts e teeter 19 287 
otal’ as ouch hn cotegi meres ye 182 1,282 
The total census of the Zoological Park collections on Decem- 
ber 31, 1908, is as follows: 
SUMMARY OF COLLECTIONS. 
Species. Specimens. 
Mattias aerate eae a eyes tees 217 682 
| BU eee mennhtee Ga PR POPU MEet cele nent 563 2,615 
Reptiles ayryte mice e cere ree an ee 182 1,282 
Sli@tall pains Lise inn eee tae 962 4,579 
nmcCreasexOvier lOO7 eae 97 545 
CONTRACT WORK IN GROUND IMPROVEMENTS. 
Conducted under the Direction of the Park Department for the Borough 
of The Bronx. Martin Schenck, Chief Engineer. 
W. P. Hennessy, Assistant Engineer. 
The Elephant House.-—Work on the Elephant House was dili- 
gently prosecuted by the contractors, Messrs. F. T. Nesbit & 
Company, and on November 15 the building was turned over 
to the Society for occupancy. The structure is as nearly perfect 
as it was possible to make it. Externally it is very handsome, 
its interior is highly successful in every way; it is well lighted, 
easily heated and ventilated, and affords a spacious and com- 
fortable home for the animals that it contains. The work of the 
contractors has been very satisfactory, and the perfection of the 
