104 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1926 
would be required in order to make the land suitable for the purposes 
of the park. By cooperating with the Office of Public Buildings 
and Public Parks, which needed the excavated material for fill along 
the new Rock Creek drive, it was possible to do a considerable 
amount of grading at comparatively small cost to the park. It is 
hoped that the grading can be completed within the next year, so 
that the fence can be established on the new boundary line. 
UNIFORMS FOR POLICE 
A provision of the appropriation act made available the sum of 
$1,000 during the year for furnishing uniforms to the policemen 
of the park. This makes it possible to maintain a standard of per- 
sonal appearance that could not well be required of such employees 
when compelled to equip themselves. 
Tt is highly desirable that similar provision be made for keepers. 
In caring for the animals they are brought into contact with the 
public to a considerable extent, are often called on for information, 
and at times have to caution and restrain visitors. They should 
therefore be distinctly recognizable as belonging to the personnel 
of the park. 
BIRD HOUSE 
For several years past attention has been called in each successive 
report to the urgent need of a suitable building in which to exhibit 
the collection of birds. It is a great satisfaction therefore to note 
that the appropriation act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1927, 
carries an item of $49,000 for beginning the construction of such a 
building, and authorizes the making of contracts for it to a total 
cost not exceeding $102,000. This is for the house only, and the 
cages, interior and exterior, which it is estimated will cost $25,000, 
are to be provided for in a subsequent appropriation. 
A scheme of arrangement for the new building was proposed by 
the late Mr. Howland Russell, a well known architect, and final 
plans on which contract may be based at the present writing are 
being made in the office of Mr. A. L. Harris, the municipal architect 
of the District of Columbia. The first appropriation is contemplated 
to permit necessary excavation, and construction of the foundation 
and walls. It is planned to begin construction in the spring of 1927 
so that the entire building may be finished that year with the addi- 
tional appropriation for its completion estimated in the appropria- 
tion bill for this coming year. The completion of such a building 
will be hailed by all with the greatest satisfaction, for the present 
structure is antiquated, unfitted for modern needs, and in such bad 
repair that it is difficult to keep it in proper condition to house ex- 
