FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 133 



for bringing fishes alive to market, would improve our exhibits 

 and lower the cost of collecting specimens. 



In order to vary the collections in the building we should 

 avail ourselves of the admirable fishing grounds around Sandy 

 Hook oftener than we are able to do, on account of the expense. 

 Most of our local sea fishes are now collected from pound nets in 

 the Gravesend Bay region and have to be shipped by express 

 at heavy cost, and with inevitable injury to the specimens. The 

 method is wasteful, and the exhibition stock is received in poor 

 condition. For the collecting of fresh water fishes from the 

 Bronx River, lakes in the City parks and elsewhere, wagons have 

 to be hired at a cost of about $350.00 a year. With our present 

 maintenance fund even this expense is a serious one and the 

 Aquarium exhibits frequently lack interesting things which 

 might as well be on exhibition. The Aquarium therefore needs 

 a wagon. 



Three of the large floor pools in the Aquarium are devoted 

 to seals and sea-lions for the reason that we have no funds to 

 provide other marine animals of large size to take their place. 

 Sea-lions should not be kept in the building because of the noise 

 they make, and it is cruelty to animals to maintain a collection of 

 harbor seals indoors. These animals do not thrive in winter 

 when the building has to be heated. The customary number of 

 four seals, purchased every spring, is lost from pneumonia be- 

 fore the next collecting season comes around. Two of these 

 pools at least should be filled with large fishes such as the giant 

 gars and hundred-pound catfishes of the Lower Mississippi. It 

 would be quite impossible for the Aquarium to make collections 

 in such distant places with its present appropriation. The only 

 luxury indulged in is the annual collection of tropical fishes from 

 the Bermudas. 



From the foregoing it will be seen that the Aquarium is 

 denied common facilities which have always been freely granted 

 to our other museums. Its appropriation is now only one-fourth 

 that allowed the other institutions. 



Our improved water system has enabled us to get along with 

 three Bermuda shipments instead of four as formerly. It is be- 

 lieved that hereafter we will be able to keep enough of these 

 fishes living so that two shipments each summer will be enough, 

 the total cost of which will be only $500 a year as against $1,000 

 formerly. 



During the past four or five years the Director has been 

 called upon to furnish a great amount of detailed information on 



