48 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
House with wood and glass; laying of concrete walks; installa- 
tion of private water pump for sprinkling purposes; substituting 
concrete and steel for wood in the Reptile House and Aquatic 
Bird House; overhauling the Primate House and Small Mammal 
House. 
The usual amount of live stock, vegetables and ornamental 
plants were produced by the nursery. The greenhouses are be- 
coming wholly inadequate to produce the supply of plants re- 
quired for indoor decoration and bedding. 
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 
The general health of the mammals during the year 19i1 
has been excellent. There have been fewer cases of illness than 
in former years and the death-rate remains at the low mark of 
the past few years. There has been no epidemic of any kind 
during the past year, while gastro-enteritis among the hoofed 
animals, tuberculosis among the primates, and distemper and in- 
testinal parasites among the carnivores have been less trouble- 
some than formerly. 
The records of the medical department for the past ten years 
are being reviewed for the purpose of preparing a treatise on 
the diseases of wild animals in confinement, soon to be published 
by the Zoological Society. 
PHEASANT EXPEDITION. 
On May 26, 1911, C. William Beebe, the Curator of 
Birds of the Zoological Park, returned from his trip around the 
world, having completed a thorough survey of the known species 
of pheasants. 
He visited the Kensington Museum in London to inspect the 
material available there, then visited the southern slopes of the 
Himalayas and entered far into the mountains at several points. 
From there he went to Burma, Java, China and Japan. 
The entire expenses of the expedition and the preparation 
of the Monograph, which will cost in all between $50,000 and 
$75,000, have been met by one of the Managers of the Society, 
Colonel Anthony R. Kuser, of Bernardsville, New Jersey, whose 
action was dictated by a great love of birds and a desire to do 
something noteworthy for the New York Zoological Society and 
for science. 
Illustrations for this work are being prepared by Charles R. 
Knight and Louis Agassiz Fuertes in this country, and Major 
