REPORT OF THE 

 DIRECTOR OF THE AQUARIUM 



TO THE BOARD OF MANAGERS. 



THE year 1912 has been an uneventful one in the history 

 of the Aquarium, but it may be recorded as entirely success- 

 ful. The attendance on the part of the public shows an in- 

 crease of 132,811 over that of 1911, although the exhibition 

 tanks have contained only the customary number and variety 

 of specimens. Nothing unusual was added to the collections. 

 A fact which should be emphasized is the successful mainte- 

 nance from year to year, in winter as well as in summer, of a 

 large and varied exhibit of aquatic forms of life for the enter- 

 tainment and instruction of the public. A fixed number of 

 tanks allows of no increase in the quantity of aquatic animals 

 that can be housed in the present building, and but little in- 

 crease in variety ; yet the annual number of visitors becomes 

 greater as time passes. The cost of maintenance is but a quar- 

 ter of that required by each of three larger museums in the 

 City, none of which has ever entertained the same number of 

 visitors. 



Living aquatic animals cannot be kept under the simple con- 

 ditions sufficient for the specimens of a natural history museum, 

 but must be shipped and maintained in their natural element. 

 In the case of the New York Aquarium the water supply includes 

 both sea water and fresh water, and both of these tempered to 

 suit the requirements of tropical and northern species. It is 

 true that the species usually to be seen in the Aquarium could 

 be disposed of and different species secured, but the cost of 

 rejecting species already well established in the tanks and trying 

 out others not so well known, would hardly be warranted. A 

 large collection of living fishes and other aquatic animals re- 

 quires constant care by a well-trained force of men, and the 

 Aquarium is not lacking in this respect. There are many kinds 

 of foods to be prepared. The fishes alone range in size from 

 the newly hatched, to individuals weighing three hundred 

 pounds. 



Most of the groups of fishes to be seen swimming so lazily 

 behind the large plates of glass are the hardy survivors of 



