APPENDIX 6 

 EEPORT ON THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 

 tions of the National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ended June 

 30, 1937: 



The regular appropriation made by Congress for the maintenance 

 of the Park was $225,000, all of which was expended. 



IMPROVEMENTS 



The fiscal year 1937 was probably the most outstanding in the 

 liistory of the Zoo. The construction under the Public Works Ad- 

 ministration grant of $892,920 was completed. These improvements 

 include a brick exhibition building for small mammals and great 

 apes; a stone exhibition building to house large mammals; a new 

 wing to the bird house; a two-story building for machine and car- 

 penter shops; a stone garage; the installation of three 250-horse- 

 power down-draft boilers in the central heating plant ; an extension 

 of the conduit system to the small mammal house and large mammal 

 house; and rearrangement of the electric supply distribution sys- 

 tem, a portion of which was put underground. 



The small mammal and great ape house was completed and opened 

 to the public in May 1937. It is approximately 185 by 115 feet and 

 contains 96 cages and tanks varying in size from 18 by 12 by 26 

 inches to 12 by 40 by 10 feet,, which provide accommodations for a 

 considerable variety of animals. The building consists of four sec- 

 tions : A large central room with cages in the center and around the 

 sides, some with glass fronts and others with steel bars; a wing for 

 the great apes with a glass partition between the animals and the 

 public ; a third room for the gibbons, which are likewise x^artitioned 

 from the public by glass; and a fourth room, semicircular in form, 

 which is termed the nocturnal room and is designed to house an array 

 of small creatures that are rarely shown in collections. The build- 

 ing is fairly easy to keep clean, and the system of forced ventilation 

 eliminates practically all the odor. 



The contract work on the large mammal house was completed in 

 June 1937, but considerable still remains to be done before it is ready 

 for occupancy. This work is being carried on by the Zoo's regular 

 personnel which it is hoped will be augmented by assistance from 



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