32 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



During the summer the attention of the Department of Sewers 

 was called to a v'ery offensive stream of sewage from Belmont, 

 which empties into the Zoological Park and flows through Birds' 

 Valley on the surface. Plans for a small sewer were prepared, and 

 Acting Commissioner Donohue, upon the recommendation of 

 Deputy Commissioner Byrnes, applied to the Board of Estimate 

 for $2,250, with which to construct the sewer. The amount applied 

 for was promptly granted, and a contract for the work was let on 

 November 30th. Owing to the severity of the winter the work of 

 construction was greatly delayed, but the sewer is now complete. 



GROUND IMPROVEMENT WORK BY THE CITY. 



The fund of $62,000, appropriated by the Board of Estimate for 

 1898, was placed to the credit of the Department of Parks, and 

 became available on July 28th. On August ist, the plans and 

 specifications for all the ground improvements to be made in the 

 Zoological Park by means of that fund were submitted to the Board 

 of Parks, and promptly approved. These plans were immediately 

 taken in hand by the Chief Engineer of the Park Department, Mr. 

 Daniel Ulricli, and steps taken to carry them into effect. 



On August 29th, the City's work was inaugurated at the Aquatic 

 Rodents' Pond, where a force of teams and laborers began to ex- 

 cavate a bog of rich, black earth, and convert a nuisance into a 

 feature of use and beauty. This work was prosecuted throughout 

 the autumn, and was almost completed when the great storm of 

 November 24th stopped all work for an indefinite period. It is 

 now certain that this pond cannot be completed until about June 

 I, 1899. 



On November 7th, William Masterson began to excavlate, at 

 his own expense, a large quantity of earth from Cope Lake, to be 

 used in completing his contract for the construction of the Pelham 

 Avenue roadway. Since that date a large quantity of earth has 

 been removed from the lower end of the lake, and about one-third 

 of its entire area has been graded nearly to the bottom level. The 

 completion of this commanding landscape feature of the Park is 

 a matter of pressing importance, and its expense will probably 

 have to be met from the fund of $10,000 now available for grading 

 and excavating Baird Court and its surroundings. 



