108 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
nized and various plans for its betterment have been submitted 
and found approval—but action has so far not been secured. 
During the fifteen years that the Aquarium has been under 
the management of the Zoological Society, the total amount se- 
cured from the City for various improvements of the building 
has been $76,000, an average of $5,067 per annum—not a large 
sum for an institution necessarily requiring a large amount of 
machinery and piping. Most of the improvements made during 
this period are not apparent to visitors, being largely those con- 
nected with the different water systems and located out of sight 
of the public. The machinery has been gradually renewed and 
as far as possible modernized. The mechanical equipment is at 
present in sound working condition, so that the maintenance of 
the living aquatic exhibits is on a safe basis. Some of the diffi- 
culties connected with the administration of the Aquarium are 
very serious. 
During the new moon tides of each month, wet coal has to 
be shovelled into the furnaces by firemen wearing rubber hoots 
and standing knee deep in water. The sea has always invaded 
the fireroom floor and the underground pipe galleries during new 
moon tides. This almost unbearable condition has been tolerated 
under the constant protest of the Director. The Aquarium needs 
to have its mechanical department removed to the unused base- 
ment at the front of the building, where it can be protected dur- 
ing high tides. The space vacated in the rear of the building 
should be made available for exhibits, and advantage should be 
taken of the change to create additional office and storage space 
by the addition of a third story. 
While the tides are high, one of the pumps becomes entirely 
submerged, so that it ceases to operate, and steam heat is cut 
off the entire building until the tide falls, a serious matter in 
cold weather. The coal storage space is so limited that the Aqua- 
rium has always had to depend on coal delivered twice a week. 
This winter it is on the precarious basis of daily coal deliveries. 
If these stop for forty-eight hours, the Aquarium will lose its 
collections and be put out of business until next summer. 
The following letter is from the Architect of the Park De- 
partment. Mr. Kraus saw the fireroom when it was flooded on 
October 24, 1917: 
