EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 73 



The New York Zoological Society offered to the American 

 Bison Society, as a gift toward the nucleus herd, a herd of four- 

 teen pure-blood bison. This offer was promptly accepted. On 

 November 25 seven male and seven female bison were selected 

 from the Zoological Park herd, and turned over to the Bison 

 Society at the Park, for shipment to South Dakota. 



The Government was represented in the shipment by Fred- 

 erick M. Dille and Frank Rush, and the transportation business 

 was in charge of H. Raymond Mitchell, Chief Clerk of the Zoo- 

 logical Park. The bison were transported by the American 

 Express Company, and reached their new home in the Wind 

 Cave National Bison Range in perfect condition, four days after 

 leaving New York. 



This herd makes the fifth herd of bison now in the posses- 

 sion of the national government, and in view of the additional 

 herds now owned and maintained by the Canadian goverximent, 

 we may regard the future of the American bison as secure. It 

 is with satisfaction that we find ourselves able to say that after 

 all, man has saved this species from becoming extinct. 



The herd of fifteen bison sent in 1907 to the Wichita National 

 Bison Range has increased to forty-eight head, all in excellent 

 condition. 



VIVARIUM IN THE WASHINGTON IRVING HIGH SCHOOL. 



While the architects' plans for the Washington Irving High 

 School for Girls were still in course of preparation. Miss Lillian 

 Bell Sage, head of the Department of Biology, applied to the Di- 

 rector of the Zoological Park for advice regarding a vivarium 

 for that school. As a final result, the Society's engineer, Mr. 

 Beerbower, in co-operation with the Director^ prepared plans for 

 a complete vivarium, which in due course was constructed. The 

 Zoological Society has furnished the entire stock of living mam- 

 mals, birds and reptiles with which the vivarium has been 

 stocked, furnished all the labels, and trained an assistant janitor 

 to serve as keeper. The vivarium was opened in September, 

 1913, and is regularly visited not only by the classes of the 

 Washington Irving High School, but also by many classes in 

 nature study from other schools within a radius of two miles 

 of the parent school. 



