82 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



GROUND IMPROVEMENTS AND MAINTENANCE WORK OF THE DE- 

 PARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION AND FORESTRY 

 Herman W. Merkel, Chief Constructor and Forester. 



The most important work of our own ground improvement 

 force for the year 1910 was the removal of the old Moose House 

 and the building of the yards and fences for the new Wild Horse 

 installation. Corral fences to the extent of 600 lineal feet were 

 erected on T-iron posts set in concrete. About 5,280 square feet 

 of tar-macadam paving was put down along the corral fences, 

 and surrounding the buildings. The old shelter house that for- 

 merly stood in the Moose Range was carefully taken down, and 

 re-erected as a shelter house for wild horses. On account of the 

 re-arrangement of the interior, the great number of new doors 

 and windows considered necessary, and because the building 

 originally stood on sloping ground, while it now stands on a level 

 foundation, much more work was necessary than at first had been 

 anticipated. On account of the unsettled condition of the plans 

 for the Zebra House, the fences of the corrals facing this building 

 have not been erected. The total cost of our work on this instal- 

 lation was $3,018.32; and everything is now in a good state of 

 preparation for the erection of the Zebra House, and its yards. 



Around the new Comfort Station, on the Elephant Walk, 

 about 600 yards of soil were used in regrading the surface. Two 

 new walks and a new pipe-line were built and the building planted 

 out with evergreens, mostly hemlock, taken from our border 

 plantation. The cost of this work amounted to $1,863. 



The macadam paving of the yards east of the Small-Deer 

 House had been so badly loosened by the hoofs of the animals that 

 the yards presented a very untidy appearance, the loose stone was 

 hard on the animals' feet and the yards could not be cleaned satis- 

 factorily. It became absolutely necessary to cover those yards 

 with concrete, of which 14,000 square feet were put down, at a 

 total cost of $515. The yards west of the building, that were 

 paved with tar-macadam at the time of the construction of the 

 building, are in a very satisfactory condition, and will remain 

 so for many years. 



At the Boat-House a storm-door portico was erected in front 

 of the main entrance, to serve as a protection both to the build- 

 ing and its patrons. 



The unexpected gift of two polar bears by Mr. Paul Rainey 

 necessitated the erection of a new and very strong bear den. 



