TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT 115 



fishes. Much of the descriptive matter has already been pre- 

 pared by the Director, who constantly supervised the work of 

 the artists. 



Information Circulars. — Three circulars were added to the 

 list of "Information Circulars" published by the Aquarium. 

 These three- to six-page leaflets are useful in handling the cor- 

 respondence of the institution, as they relate to subjects about 

 which there is frequent inquiry. Those issued were: The Care 

 of Salamanders and Frogs in Captivity, by Ida M. Mellen ; The 

 Care of Small Salt Water Aquaria, by Ida M. Mellen; and The 

 Administration of the Public Aquarium, by C. H. Townsend. 



Annual Reception. — The annual reception at the Aquarium 

 on April 30, to members of the Zoological Society, was attended 

 by 318 persons. The building was specially illuminated, and was 

 decorated with plants loaned by the Park Department and the 

 Zoological Park. Music and refreshments were provided and 

 there w^ere interesting motion pictures of aquatic life. The en- 

 larged tanks, with their greatly increased living exhibits, at- 

 tracted much favorable comment. 



Reception to Museums' Association. — On the evening of May 

 22, the American Association of Museums, then meeting in 

 New York, was invited to the Aquarium. Nearly one hun- 

 dred persons were present. A part of the evening was devoted 

 to an address by the Director on The Administration of the Pub- 

 lic Aquarium, which has since been published as one of the In- 

 formation Circulars of the New York Aquarium (No. 6). This 

 Association has over three hundred members, representing one 

 hundred and fifty museums in the United States and Canada. 



Attendance. — Soon after the commencement of the war in 

 Europe, the attendance at the Aquarium began to decline, and 

 in 1915 the number of visitors was 1,538,831. In 1916 the at- 

 tendance was still less, being 1,499,667. The decline was attrib- 

 uted to the decrease in steamship travel, both immigrant and 

 tourist, between this country and Europe. During the past year 

 the number of visitors to the Aquarium increased by 95,451 as 

 compared with 1916. 



The total attendance for 1917 was 1,595,118. a daily average 

 of 4,370 persons. 



