FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 113 



cold-blooded proposal to slice about 200 feet off the entire west- 

 ern front of the Zoological Park, ruining that area, for the sake 

 of devoting it to wagons and street cars. Fortunately, that 

 noble scheme was killed in its cradle. Then came the scheme to 

 extend the elevated subway through the center of the Park, to 

 the ruin of the area surrounding it. That was killed by the old 

 Rapid Transit Commission. After that the original plan for 

 having the West Farms branch of the Subway (elevated) ter- 

 minate at 182nd Street, and virtually overhang our entrance, was 

 changed for the better by the consent of the Interborough Com- 

 pany. That company also kindly consented to sell to the City 

 at cost price the "West Farms Block," between 180th and 182nd 

 Streets, which as an elevated railroad yard would have ruined 

 the adjacent portion of our Park. 



Throughout the first ten years of its existence, the Zoolog- 

 ical Park never has been attacked save once, through the malice 

 of an unfair newspaper man. The Executive Committee once 

 was assailed, — when the axis of Baird Court was changed to 

 what it should have been in the first place. The result to-day is 

 a triumphant vindication of the position assumed and main- 

 tained seven years ago by Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, 

 who saved Baird Court from what would have been a calamity. 



In everything save the accumulation of funds, the progress 

 of the Zoological Society and the Park has been steadily upward, 

 with but few halts or variations in the regular ratio of growth. 

 As new buildings have been erected, the collections to fill them 

 have always been gathered in advance. The growth of the col- 

 lections, both in number of species and in total number of speci- 

 mens, has marched steadily on. Generally the rate of increase 

 has been about 10% per year, both in specimens and species. 



The attendance of visitors also shows the same steady march 

 upward. Of late the gain has been about 200,000 per year. It 

 is fortunate that in the early years of the Park, visitors were not 

 as numerous as they now are; for then the buildings could not 

 have contained them. 



A few illustrations of ante-improvement days in the Park, 

 and of conditions to-day, will serve to show the original state of 

 nature, — of meadow, glade, jungle and bog. On the raw lands 

 of twelve years ago, the Society has erected the equivalent of a 

 town, consisting of ground improvements and buildings so high- 

 ly specialized and complicated that in difficulty they are equal to 

 three times their number of ordinary buildings for dwellings or 

 business. 



