42 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



On the whole the health of the collections at the Park has 

 been excellent. There have been, however, a number of deaths 

 due to old age, but losses from this cause must be expected. 



COLLECTIONS AT THE AQUARIUM. 



A census of the exhibits at the Aquarium taken January 1, 

 1918, shows the following results : 



January 1, 1917 January 1, 1918 



Species Specimens Species Specimens 



Fishes 149 4,196 137 4,611 



Reptiles 19 128 21 112 



Amphibians 8 365 8 69 



Invertebrates 21 1,306 18 1,255 



Mammals 2 2 2 2 



199 5,992 186 6,049 



Compared with January 1, 1917, this census shows an in- 

 crease of fifty-seven specimens, and a decrease of thirteen spe- 

 cies. The two mammals in the Aquarium are a sea-lion and a 

 manatee. The sea-lion has lived in the Aquarium ten years and 

 the manatee a year and a half. 



It is a great satisfaction to be able to report a still further 

 improvement in the welfare of the living collections of the Aqua- 

 rium. The installation of a new salt-water supply in 1908 im- 

 proved the conditions for keeping marine forms of life to a re- 

 markable degree. The enlargement of some of the tanks in 1916 

 has also contributed to this result. 



Fresh-water fishes were collected as usual by the Aquarium 

 employees from local waters, and exchanges were made with the 

 State fishery boards of New York and New Jersey. Local mar- 

 ine species were also collected by the Aquarium force. 



Three collections of tropical fishes were made in Florida 

 during the sum.mer, two of them being in cooperation with the 

 Detroit and Philadelphia Aquariums. This arrangement proved 

 to be economical and advantageous, although the number of spec- 

 imens brought to the New York Aquarium was somewhat less 

 than usual. All of the work of collecting and transporting was 

 done by the New York Aquarium force, the other institutions 

 contributing to the general cost of the trip. 



