42 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
On the whole the health of the collections at the Park has 
been excellent. There have been, however, a number of deaths 
due to old age, but losses from this cause must be expected. 
COLLECTIONS AT THE AQUARIUM. 
A census of the exhibits at the Aquarium taken January 1, 
1918, shows the following results: 
January, te Agi January 1, 1918 
Species Specimens Species Specimens 



ENTS) SEIS a ee a Os 149 4,196 ton 4,611 
Rephilest ==) 19 We Dal 1 
Amphibians ........ 8 365 8 69 
Invertebrates ... Zit 1,306 18 Za 
Mammals, 222 2 2 2 2 
199 5,992 186 6,049 
Compared with January 1, 1917, this census shows an in- 
crease of fifty-seven specimens, and a decrease of thirteen spe- 
cies. The two mammals in the Aquarium are a sea-lion and a 
manatee. The sea-lion has lived in the Aquarium ten years and 
the manatee a year and a half. 
It is a great satisfaction to be able to report a still further 
improvement in the welfare of the living collections of the Aqua- 
rium. The installation of a new salt-water supply in 1908 im- 
proved the conditions for keeping marine forms of life to a re- 
markable degree. The enlargement of some of the tanks in 1916 
has also contributed to this result. 
Fresh-water fishes were collected as usual by the Aquarium 
employees from local waters, and exchanges were made with the 
State fishery boards of New York and New Jersey. Local mar- 
ine species were also collected by the Aquarium force. 
Three collections of tropical fishes were made in Florida 
during the summer, two of them being in cooperation with the 
Detroit and Philadelphia Aquariums. This arrangement proved 
to be economical and advantageous, although the number of spec- 
imens brought to the New York Aquarium was somewhat less 
than usual. All of the work of collecting and transporting was 
done by the New York Aquarium force, the other institutions 
contributing to the general cost of the trip. 
