REPORT “OF “CHE DIRE CLOR 
OF THE 
ZOOLOGICAL PARK 
TO THE BOARD OF MANAGERS. 
VEN with a sincere desire to be grateful for the support 
which has been granted to it, and for the results that have 
been accomplished, the New York Zoological Society realizes that 
to-day the Zoological Park is only half complete. The spacious, 
solid, and elegant character of the improvements demanded by 
the peopleof New York renders the progressof upbuilding some- 
what slower than was originally intended. These conditions, 
taken in connection with the great increase in the cost of building 
materials and labor, are accountable for the fact that four and 
one-half years after the inauguration of the work of development, 
the Park is still in an unfinished condition. 
A recent inspection of the best zoological gardens of Europe, 
made last autumn by two representatives of the Society, rather 
painfully emphasized our lack of accommodations for many 
groups of animals that are highly desirable. In the Berlin Garden 
was found the most liberal number of enclosures for animals, not 
only for groups, but for individuals. As a natural sequence of a 
great number of places in which to exhibit specimens, the collec- 
tions of that garden were found to be rich beyond compare. For 
example, the Crane and Stork House provides 32 enclosures in 
the open air, and a like number under shelter. For the casso- 
waries and ostriches there are 26 enclosures. The new Antelope 
House contains 18 compartments and 18 outdoor yards, and the 
three houses for wild swine provide 12 enclosures. In the average 
zoological garden about 20 wire-covered yards with shrubbery, 
grass, and water are considered sufficient for the pheasants, but in 
Berlin the new Pheasant Aviary—a plain and simple, but very 
effective installation—provides 60 enclosures without, and a like 
number within. This wealth of accommodations is made possi- 
ble by a wise subordination of the architectural features of the 
building. The visitor sees only wire netting, the front of a modest 
shelter house, the birds, and the shrubbery in which they live. 
The new deer houses, of which there are four, have made it 
possible for the Berlin Zoological Society to possess and exhibit 
