TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 109 



Cnv OF XKW VOKK— DKPAUT.MI'.XT Ol' PARKS 



Horoiiglis (if .M;inliiitt;iii and Hiclimond 

 .Muiiicipal l$iiil(liii<i-, lOtli Floor 

 Cabot Wakd, Coynntixsioiicr. Ottober 24th, 1917. 



Mr. C. H. Townsc'iul, Director, 



New York Acjuariimi, Nfw ^'ork. 

 Hear Sir: 



I visited fiii' ixtiler room in tiic Aqiiai-iiiiii tliis aflernooii to see the condi- 

 liiiiis tiiere (hiring a iiigh tide. 



1 entirely agree with you that the ])resent eoiiditions are intolerable. The 

 boiler room is cram])ed and the eoal storage sj)aee very limited. 



Having seen the fireman in rui)her boots shovelling wet eoal into the fur- 

 naces, witli the ash l)its, at the same time, half filled with water, I must congratu- 

 late you on having been able to successfully operate your mechanical department 

 all these years with such liandicaps. 



You can count on me for such assistance us I can render in your endeavors 

 to convince the City authorities of the urgent need of a change in the location 

 of the machinery department as described in your recent report. 



Very truly yours, 



(SIC;XED) JAllOS KRAUS, Architect. 



The Aquarium had 1,595,118 visitors during the past year, 

 and this attendance was lower than usual. It would seem that 

 a museum patronized by the public to such an extent, should be 

 put on a safe and sanitary basis without further argument. 



IMPROVEMENTS FROM THE MAINTENANCE FUND. 



Enlarged Exhibition Tanks. — The work of enlarging exhi- 

 bition tanks on the ground floor, which was begun in 1916, was 

 continued by the Aquarium force as opportunity afforded. 

 Twenty-two of the glass-fronted tanks have now been enlarged. 

 In eight cases, adjoining tanks were combined in pairs, making 

 in all fourteen tanks, having a depth back from the glass of 

 twelve feet. Those combined in pairs have, of course, twice the 

 width and swimming space of the single tanks which were mere- 

 ly extended backward. 



The enlargement of exhibition tanks is now about completed, 

 as any extension of the work would involve alterations in the 

 heavy piping system too serious to be practicable. The increased 

 capacity of the enlarged tanks naturally resulted in lowering the 

 water level in the underground reservoir adjacent to the Aqua- 

 rium and holding 100,000 gallons of pure sea water. This made 

 necessary the addition of several thousand gallons to the supply 

 of stored water, which was brought by tank boat from the open 

 ocean. 



