REPORT OF 

 THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 



TO THE BOARD OF MANAGERS 



WITH this year closes the first period of the Zoological Park 

 development, and from now on the work of the Society will 

 be, to an ever increasing degree, in the direction of the remain- 

 ing objects of the Society. Briefly stated, those objects are, 

 scientific work in connection with the collections, and the protec- 

 tion and preservation of our native fauna. 



The year 1909 has not been signalized by any dramatic 

 events, but the Park and the Aquarium have shown a steady and 

 very satisfactory improvement. 



The Endowment Fund has at last become an established 

 fact, and the first bequest has been received and placed therein. 

 This most appropriately comes from the family of a member of 

 the Executive Committee, Mr. Samuel Thorne, his sister, the 

 late Miss Phoebe Anna Thorne having bequeathed $10,000 for 

 this purpose. There has been received a bequest of $100 from 

 the Estate of Marguerite Carter, and an additional bequest is 

 expected from the Estate of Mrs. Helen C. Inslee of $5,000, con- 

 tingent, however, upon two life interests. 



It is the intention of the Committee to immediately raise a 

 fund of $350,000, and as a beginning, several members of the 

 Board of Managers have already signified their intention of be- 

 ing one of twenty to donate $5,000, each, for this purpose. An 

 Endowment Fund has now become a necessity, in order to render 

 permanent the work of the Society, and secure the continuance 

 of the exhibits at the Park and at the Aquarium; to enable the 

 Society to carry out scientific investigation and publish the re- 

 sults of researches already made, and also to engage on a large 

 scale in the conservation movement for the protection of the 

 land and marine fauna of North America. Owing to the policy 

 of the Executive Committee in keeping expenditures within our 

 known resources the Society is in sound financial condition, but 

 many opportunities for investigation are now being neglected 

 owing to lack of funds. 



The Hudson-Fulton Celebration did not affect u.s materially, 

 as the Park was remote from the main center of interest. The 



