SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 97 
a permanent hospital in which to treat diseased or injured ani- 
mals. We are also lacking a proper dissecting-room, cold-storage 
room for the preservation of dead animals previous to autopsies, 
and proper winter storage rooms for animals that in winter re- 
quire to be taken out of their yards and kept in heated buildings 
until spring. All of the various buildings that have been in use 
for the purposes enumerated above consist of temporary wooden 
sheds, of a very inadequate nature, highly inflammable in con- 
struction, and capable of being kept in sanitary condition only 
by the greatest effort. It is quite time that this Zoological Park 
should have a proper outfit of permanent buildings for the pur- 
poses indicated above, such as usually is found in zoological 
gardens and parks of the first rank. We have previously 
refrained from asking for these buildings because of the im- 
perative necessity of first providing buildings and other installa- 
tions for the animals on exhibition. The ground to be occupied 
by these buildings is located in what is known as the Service 
Yard, which already is surrounded by a permanent brick wall 
of first-class construction, and the buildings proposed would be 
entirely hidden from the view of the public. The construction 
intended for these buildings is of a very simple and inexpensive 
character; but it must at all hazards be permanent and nor 
oughly sanitary. 
Heating Plant for Animal-Service Buildings.—The manner 
in which the buildings named above have been grouped together 
on the plan renders it both possible and desirable to heat all of 
them from a small central plant. The most economical plan 
would be to erect a small, independent building, to shelter the 
boilers and provide room for the necessary storage of coal. From 
this central plant a series of hot water pipes will radiate to the 
various buildings and supply all buildings within a radius of 200 
feet. 
CONTRACT WORK IN GROUND IMPROVEMENTS 
Conducted under the direction of the Park Department of the Borough of the 
Bronx. Thomas J. Higgins, Commissioner; Martin Schenck, Chief Engineer. 
Additional Bear Dens.—In order to provide adequate and 
safe accommodations for several young Alaska brown bears that 
rapidly were attaining serious proportions, and also to provide 
suitable accommodations for the small tropical bears temporarily 
housed in the Small-Mammal House, a contract was awarded, in 
1911, to the J. W. Fiske Iron Works for the construction of two 
large bear dens and eight small ones. The contract price was 
