78 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



the wooden platform for tables was extended at the rear and 

 sides, providing room for a number of additional tables so located 

 as to be well shaded by the trees of the surrounding grove. At 

 the Soda Pavilion near the Bird House it was decided to extend 

 the service somewhat during the fall and winter months; and 

 accordingly^ a gas service-pipe was put in to supply heat, and a 

 set of urns was installed to provide for the serving of coffee 

 and other hot drinks. 



Lunch Pavilion. — For several years past the demands for 

 accommodations for basket and lunch parties at the Rocking 

 Stone Restaurant have been increasing. While it interfered with 

 our regular restaurant service, we have hesitated to exclude such 

 parties from the Lunch Room portion of the restaurant until 

 some provision for their accommodation could be made else- 

 where. In the spring of 1909 it was arranged to remove the 

 benches from the Shelter Pavilion near the Fox Dens and put in 

 tables and chairs for the free use of lunch and basket parties. 



Park employees were advised to direct such parties to this 

 pavilion. In this way much luncheon refuse is accumulated in 

 once place, instead of being scattered throughout the Park. The 

 regular soda service was extended to include coffee at five cents 

 per cup. That the accommodations for lunch parties seemed to 

 be fully appreciated was indicated by the greatly increased busi- 

 ness at this stand. 



Rocking Sto7ie Restaurant. — The year 1909 was by far the 

 most successful in the history of the Rocking Stone Restaurant 

 since it was opened eight years ago. Its patronage fully demon- 

 strated the necessity for enlarging its present capacity by ex- 

 tending the dining room. This can be done at a comparatively 

 small expense; for the kitchen and service facilities generally 

 are ample to handle satisfactorily a dining room of double the 

 capacity of the present one. Every Sunday throughout the fall 

 of 1909, when the weather was at all favorable, the dining room 

 was entirely inadequate. Parties were obliged to wait their 

 turn to secure seats, and many went away without being served. 



For the only restaurant in the central portion of the Park, 

 such a state of affairs is a serious matter. It is not only a duty 

 to the public, but also to ourselves, that we shall be able to serve 

 patrons properly at all times ; for otherwise the report soon gains 

 wide circulation that the restaurant is over-crowded and it is 

 useless to go there because of a lack of accommodations. It is 

 of great importance that the main dining room should be ex- 



