TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 111 



Storage Space for Coal. — Early in the summer the Director 

 acceded to the wish of the Commissioner of Parks, to remove the 

 unsightly shed adjacent to the A(iuarium, which had long been 

 used for storing a small reserve of coal. The Park Department 

 secured an appropriation of $650 for the enlargement of the coal 

 space within the building, but as this was not immediately avail- 

 able the Aquarium could not be safeguarded in its winter coal 

 supply. It was, in fact, reduced to the necessity of depending 

 upon daily deliveries of coal during a prolonged shortage of fuel, 

 although every possible economy was practiced. By closing the 

 building to visitors from January 18 to 22, inclusive, and on the 

 following Monday, a saving of about fifty per cent in fuel was 

 effected. The living exhibits would probably have been lost had 

 it not been for twenty-five tons' emergency supply long hidden 

 in an underground pipe conduit. The space available for coal 

 is so limited that it can hold under the best conditions not more 

 than four days' supply. 



Appropriation foi' Repaint to Roof. — The roof of the Aqua- 

 rium, which has long been in bad condition, was examined by 

 the Park Department, and an appropriation of $3,000 was ap- 

 plied for and secured. A further appropriation of $375 was 

 secured for the re-surfacing of the exterior walls, which had 

 become greatly discolored. 



Exhibits. — The exhibits at the Aquarium are as varied and 

 extensive as at any time in the past. They cannot, in fact, be 

 increased without making radical changes in the building, such 

 as those suggested in the report for last year. By removing the 

 mechanical department from the rear to the basement of the 

 front of the building, much space could be created for new and 

 attractive exhibits and these could be installed in a manner su- 

 perior to anything yet attempted. 



The total number of specimens now in the Aquarium is 

 6,049, and the number of species 186. Of fishes there are 4,611 

 specimens, representing 137 species; invertebrates 1,255 speci- 

 mens, and 18 species; amphibians 69 specimens, and 8 species; 

 reptiles 112 specimens, and 21 species; and two mammals — a 

 sea lion and a manatee. The sea lion has lived in the Aquarium 

 ten years and the manatee (Mauatus inunguis, from the Ama- 

 zon) a year and a half. 



It is a great satisfaction to be able to report a further im- 

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



