68 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Deer House. This construction involved the building of about 

 1,400 lineal feet of walks twelve feet wide, and thirty corrals em- 

 bracing about 30,000 square feet of space. In the course of this 

 work a great quantity of earth filling was required, but through 

 the foresight and good management of ]\Ir. Merkel all save a 

 small portion of it was procured without cost. Of fences, 2,750 

 lineal feet were built, the whole outside fence, 850 feet in length, 

 being erected on a stone wall with a concrete coping. These 

 fences are of special design, and while all are as open as possible 

 and reasonably pleasing to the eye, they are entirely safe for the 

 animals within them. The yards on the west side of the house 

 were finished with a tarred surface, and the others must be 

 similarly treated at an early date. 



The Italian Garden. — The most notable feature of formal plant- 

 ing thus far developed in the Park was the construction of an 

 Italian Garden at the northern end of Baird Court. It has been 

 developed as the central feature of an elaborate architectural de- 

 sign consisting of stone stairways and balustrades, and lies in a 

 sloping position, extending from the lower to the upper levels of 

 the embankment. 



Preliminary to the planting of this Garden it was necessary to 

 excavate about 300 yards of rock, after which about 500 yards 

 of soil and fertilizers had to be supplied. The Garden was laid 

 out in accordance with the design of Mr. James L. Greenleaf, 

 Consulting Landscape Architect, and planted by Mr. ^Merkel's 

 force of gardeners, with over 3,000 box bushes, 500 evergreens 

 and 1,800 red geraniums. Planting was also done around the 

 Feed Barn, on Audubon Court, around the Small-Deer House, 

 along the Buffalo walks, in the West Farms Block, and around 

 the Boat House and West Farms Entrance. In this planting 

 work 2,100 conifers, 852 deciduous trees, 2,000 deciduous shrubs, 

 6,000 evergreen shrubs, and 6,325 perennials were used, besides 

 many more which were taken from our border plantations. 



Mountain Goat Yards. — Immediately west of the Small-Deer 

 House a series of three large yards for mountain goats and Vir- 

 ginia deer were built, of which about 14,400 square feet were 

 paved. Around these yards about 630 feet of single and double 

 fences were erected, and the lines were made to conform to the 

 lines of the new walk leading south. 



New Elk and Deer Yards. — At the Elk Range seven corrals 

 and yards were either built new or reconstructed. To prevent the 

 fighting of male elk and mule deer through their ]:)artition fences, 

 with damage both to the fences and to their antlers, an entirely 



