92 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



in connection with the drainage system, the floors in the two 

 largest cages were torn out and replaced. This flooring now 

 consists of 'Tileine," with a bottom and margin of solid con- 

 crete, and if it does not prove to be too cold it will be entirely 

 satisfactory. The cage gutters also came in for a great deal of 

 repair and replacement. 



The roofs of all the buildings, with the exception of that of 

 the Zebra House, were thoroughly overhauled and made tight, 

 which in some cases, like the Buffalo Shed and the Fallow Deer 

 Sheds, amounted to an entire recovering. 



The usual amount of painting was also done, and we must 

 face the fact that all iron and steel work containing animals 

 must be given a coat of paint annually in order to prevent de- 

 terioration. 



The Small-Mammal House was, as usual, the one building 

 upon which practically all the repair work of last year had to be 

 done over. A breakdown of the heating plant that supplies this 

 building and the Ostrich House of December 8, threatened 

 dangerous consequences, but by strenuous effort, the system was 

 temporarily repaired before morning without great loss of tem- 

 perature, and permanent repairs were made a few days after- 

 ward. 



Care of Grounds and Policing. — Early in the season the dep- 

 redations among the rhododendrons and dogwood blossoms, etc., 

 were so great, and the general lawlessness and disorder on 

 crowded Sundays became so intolerable that a special force of 

 three men was asked for, and supplied by the Society. With 

 these men and our own force of special policemen, after a few 

 Sundays of hard work, we managed to restore order and decor- 

 um, and this almost entirely without making actual arrests. The 

 total number of arrests made is slightly larger than last year, 

 numbering sixteen, a conviction being obtained in each case. 

 The protection by the city police system is totally inadequate, 

 and a special effort should be made to obtain from four to six 

 policemen in plain clothes for Saturday afternoons, Sundays and 

 holidays. 



Until the disastrous storm of August 5, 1913, the tree life 

 in the Park was in fairly good condition, but this storm up- 

 rooted or broke off forty-eight large forest trees, and thousands 

 of limbs and branches, resulting in serious injury to one visitor, 

 and the death of a deer. The ravages of the storm are still very 



