FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 141 



The refrigerator system was extended to four additional 

 tanks on the fresh water side of the house, which makes them 

 available for additional cold water species in summer. 



Aquarium Improvement Fund. — A fund of $5,000 from 

 special Revenue Bonds granted in 1908 by the Board of Alder- 

 men for a new roof and additional skylights for the Aquarium 

 became available during the year and the work is now in prog- 

 ress. The disbursements from this fund are shown in the 

 Treasurer's Statements. 



Aid to School Teachers 

 During the year, small aquaria were placed in seventy-five 

 school-houses. These were furnished by the Board of Education 

 and stocked by the Aquarium. Mr. Spencer who has attended to 

 this work from the beginning, reports that he has stocked such 

 aquaria in about 850 public schools. Some of the high schools 

 have three or four aquaria. About 4,800 school children in 

 classes, with their teachers, visited the laboratory of the Aquar- 

 ium during the year. Some of the classes repeated their visits 

 and showed considerable interest in their natural history lessons. 



Notes 



On September 25, 1909, a bronze tablet containing the fol- 

 lowing data was placed on the Aquarium building as a contribu- 

 tion of the New York Zoological Society to the Hudson-Fulton 

 Celebration : 



"This building first known as West Battery erected 1807- 

 1811— Called Castle Clinton after war of 1812— Ceded by Con- 

 gress to New York City 1823 — Subsequently known as Castle 

 Garden — General Lafayette received here in 1824 President 

 Jackson 1832 Kossuth 1851 The Prince of Wales 1860— Jenny 

 Lind began singing here 1850 — The landing place of eight mil- 

 hons of immigrants 1855-1890 — Connected with the land by a 

 bridge prior to 1869 — Converted into an Aquarium 1896 — Placed 

 under control of New York Zoological Society 1902 — Aquarium 

 visitors twenty-one millions to 1909, 



Erected by the New York Zoological Society. 

 Hudson-Fulton Celebration 1909." 

 On May 5, 1909, the First Convention of the National Asso- 

 ciation of Shellfish Commissioners was held at the Aquarium. 

 A number of important papers on oyster and lobster culture were 

 read and the convention was addressed by Ex-Governor Stokes 

 of New Jersey. 



