80 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



charged itself with the annual maintenance and care of the col- 

 lections, the buildings, and the grounds. 



" Both the Society and the municipality may well be congratu- 

 lated that in the brief space of four years, notwithstanding all the 

 complications and delays arising from the many conflicts of 

 charter interpretation, that this great work has been successfully 

 carried on to its present condition. 



" You can readily see that when this great Park is fully com- 

 pleted, and the entire 261 acres are developed, with the many 

 collections of animals, birds, and reptiles, its imposing structures, 

 its varied and beautiful landscapes, we shall possess an institu- 

 tion of which we may well be proud. 



" Since my accession to office it has been both a pleasure and 

 a duty to aid, by every means in my power, the success of this 

 great work. I have watched its progress day by day, and week 

 by week; and, during my continuance in office, I shall make 

 every effort to help this undertaking, to the end that our Empire 

 City may possess a zoological garden that, for the purposes of 

 instruction and recreation, will be the greatest and grandest in 

 the civilized world." 



At the close of the address of Commissioner Moebus, President 

 Morton arose and said : 



" Ladies and Gentlemen : I now take great pleasure in declar- 

 ing the New York Zoological Park, and all its collections, open 

 to the public." 



The assembly then left the terrace and the platform, passed 

 through the Bird House, up Birds' Valley to the Reptile House, 

 Bear Dens, and Buffalo House, where it dispersed. 



