SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 97 



a permanent hospital in which to treat diseased or injured ani- 

 mals We are also lacking a proper dissecting-room, cold-storage 

 room for the preservation of dead animals previous to autopsies, 

 and proper winter storage rooms for animals that in winter re- 

 quire to be taken out of their yards and kept in heated buildings 

 until spring All of the various buildings that have been m use 

 for the purposes enumerated above consist of temporary wooden 

 sheds of a very inadequate nature, highly inflammable m con- 

 struction, and capable of being kept in sanitary condition only 

 by the greatest effort. It is quite time that this Zoological Park 

 should have a proper outfit of permanent buildings for the pur- 

 poses indicated above, such as usually is found m zoological 

 gardens and parks of the first rank. We have previously 

 refrained from asking for these buildings because of the im- 

 perative necessity of first providing buildings and other installa- 

 tions for the animals on exhibition. The ground to be occupied 

 by these buildings is located in what is known as the Service 

 Yard which already is surrounded by a permanent brick wall 

 of first-class construction, and the buildings proposed would be 

 entirely hidden from the view of the public. The construction 

 intended for these buildings is of a very simple and inexpensive 

 character; but it must at all hazards be permanent and thor- 

 oughly sanitary. 



Heating Plant for Animal-Service Buildings.— The manner 

 in which the buildings named above have been grouped together 

 on the plan renders it both possible and desirable to heat all ot 

 them from a small central plant. The most economical plan 

 would be to erect a small, independent building, to shelter the 

 boilers and provide room for the necessary storage of coal. From 

 this central plant a series of hot water pipes will radiate to the 

 various buildings and supply all buildings within a radius of 200 

 feet. 



CONTRACT WORK IN GROUND IMPROVEMENTS 



Conducted under the direction of the Park Department of the Borough of the 



Bronx. Thomas J. Higgins, Commissioner; Martin Schenck, Chief Engineer. 



Additional Bear Dens.— In order to provide adequate and 

 safe accommodations for several young Alaska brown bears that 

 rapidly were attaining serious proportions, and also to provide 

 suitable accommodations for the small tropical bears temporarily 

 housed in the Small-Mammal House, a contract was awarded, m 

 1911 to the J. W. Fiske Iron Works for the construction of two 

 large bear dens and eight small ones. The contract price was 



