80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1915. 



The roof of the office building had to be reshingled and some other 

 repairs made at a cost of $400. 



The section of the heating main between the temporary bird 

 house and the antelope and elephant houses was repaired and a 

 considerable part of the pipe replaced. A new hot-water boiler, for 

 auxiliary heating of snake cases, was also put in at a total cost of 

 $500. 



ALTERATION OF THE WEST BOUNDARY OF THE PARK. 



The acquisition of the land required to extend the park to Con- 

 necticut Avenue from Cathedral Avenue to Klingle Eoad, for which 

 an appropriation of $107,200 was made in the sundry civil act for 

 the fiscal j^ear ending June 30, 1914, has not yet been accomplished. 



There was great delay at several stages in the proceedings for the 

 condemnation of the land. A special survey and map of the prop- 

 erty involved was required; the preliminary proceedings were then 

 postponed from time to time in order that the property owners 

 interested might submit arguments regarding the instructions to be 

 given to the jury of condemnation; the Avork of the jury in arriving 

 at the value of the land to be taken and the amount of benefits which 

 should be assessed against neighboring property occupied several 

 months; the hearing by the court of objections on the part of prop- 

 erty owners to the A^erdict further delayed the matter, especially as 

 the time of that court from November, 1914, to May, 1915, was al- 

 most entirely occupied by the contest in an important will case. 

 Changes in the personnel of the court and of the Government attor- 

 neys also operated to delay and complicate the matter. The court 

 finally, on June 28, 1915, confirmed the A'erdict of the jury as regards 

 the awards of damages for land to be taken and a portion of the 

 benefits assessed against neighboring property, but set aside the ver- 

 dict as to benefits in all cases where the owners of the property had 

 filed exceptions to the verdict. The amount awarded for the land 

 to be taken was $194,438.08, and to this is to be added the cost of the 

 proceedings, $2,203.35, making a total of $196,641.43. The benefits 

 were assessed at $66,013.50, but a considerable part was set aside by 

 the court. The exact amount that is involved in this decision of the 

 court has yet to be determined by the Government attorneys upon 

 examination of the land records. 



The total amount required to purchase the land and meet the costs 

 of condemnation will therefore be considerably greater than the sum 

 that was appropriated, so that an additional appropriation will have 

 to be obtained in order to secure all of the land for which the act 

 provides. 



