REPORT OF THE 
DIRECTOR OF THE AQUARIUM 
TO THE BOARD OF MANAGERS. 
HE New York Aquarium continues to fulfil its mission as one 
of the museums of the city with the same success as in past 
years. 
The attendance has diminished to some extent as a result 
of the war in Europe, but with more than four thousand visitors 
a day for the year 1915, the loss is not visually perceptible. 
Its relations with the public and with the officials of the 
city government remain on the same cordial basis as formerly. 
It has long been the custom of many teachers in the city schools 
to visit the Aquarium annually with their classes and this prac- 
tice has not declined. A work of considerable educational value 
is the free distribution of zoological material for school use to 
teachers who request it, and the service entails but trifling 
expense. 
The Aquarium is regarded by the country at large as a 
responsible and useful institution if one may judge by the large 
correspondence addressed to it on subjects pertaining to its 
peculiar field. 
The aquatic exhibits are as large and attractive as usual, 
while the building and its equipment have been improved dur- 
ing the year in many respects without increased cost. 
IMPROVEMENTS FROM THE MAINTENANCE FUND. 
The most important improvement of the year was the in- 
stallation of filters for cleaning water pumped from the Harbor 
into the large floor pools. These pools are located too low to 
permit of their being connected with the reservoir of pure sea 
water. They are moreover used for heavy feeding animals such 
as porpoises, seals and crocodilians which has made it impos- 
sible to connect them with the reservoir for fear of fouling that 
important water supply. 
