ZOOI.OCilCAI. SOCIKIV lU l.l.l.ll N 



231 



view, the ICxeculivc C'ommittci' niailc h;i>tc lo i arry 

 (lUt their loni^-ihcrished i)hins. 



Under tlie direition of Mr. James L. Oreenleaf. 

 C'diisultiiiji Landstape Arihitett, Ijorder plaiita 

 tions asi^rcfiatiiifi nearly 6,000 feet in total leni;tli 

 were laid out alonj; the southern lioun<iarv of the 

 Park, from the Boston Road to the Southwest l-".n 

 trance, up the .Soulhern i{oule\ard lo the North- 

 west I'jitrani e, and tiien.iL- aloni^ the i)ank of Cope 

 Lake to the IVlham Parkway l)rid<;e. Mr. Her- 

 mann W. Merkel, Chief Forester of the Zoolo.<;iial 

 Park, who direets all plantinii and forestry o])era- 

 tions, was instrueted to \isit all the nurseries in the 

 eastern United States which seemed likely to yield 

 satisfactory stock for the conteni|)lated plantin<;s. 

 Altogether about fifteen nurseries were visited 1)\' 

 him, and nearly fifty carloads of choice trees and 

 shrubs were selected and jyurchased for immediate 

 delivery. A force of nearly one luuulred picked 

 men was gatheri'il under the nio>i skillful foremen 

 gardeners that could lie secured, and |)Ul to work 

 prei)aring the Miil for the planting. The sjiaces to 

 be filled were |)lowed U|) and carefully worked over, 

 and great (|uantities of top soil were purchased and 

 distributed. 



In the purchase of >tock for the present vear's 

 work, .special alli'iition ha> been paid to conifers, 

 for the reason that they are needed to shelter the 

 Park from the fierce winds of winter, and from the 

 dust ilouds of summer, quite as much a^ to >creen 

 the Park from outside domination. 



The priiuipal evergreens .selected and [planted 

 lia\e been | lines and hemlocks, of various species, 

 to give height to the mass, ;ind spruces, tirs and 

 cedars, to give density and variety. Owing to the 

 sweep of the winds of winter from the south and 

 west, the unforested area of the Zoological Park 

 is very bleak and cold. The border plantations 

 now being developed, will prove of immense \aliie 

 in improving this undesirable condition. 



-Along with the conifers, there have been intro 

 (luced a liberal number of deciduous trees, such as 

 red oak. ^wamp oak, a few white oaks, chestnuts, 

 black and white a>h, >il\-er, Pennsylvania, red an<l 

 sugar maple>, white and pa])er birches. 



During the past four years, the planting opera- 

 tions in the interior of the Park have made steady 

 progress. The great object aimed at has been to 

 make good the los.ses to the forest that have been 

 cau.sed by wind storms, and by the death of trees 

 through old age. or from thiniie» of soil. To this 

 end, great numl;ers of oak>, poplars, chestnuts, 

 pines, hemloiks and ma|iles ha\e been scattered 

 through the grounds, where Nature originallv had 

 ])lanted forest trees. 



Along the unshaded walks, in the soulliern por 

 tion of the Park, shade-trees ut-re planted in tin- 

 years igooand igoi, and already are renderinggood 

 service. The most of these are (luick-growing 

 ma])les and poplars, which are destined to be cut 



out later on, when the permanent oaks, tulips and 

 elms attain satisfactory height. 



.\long the forest walk leading from the Primates' 

 House to the Southwest luitrance, and known as 

 Meaver \'alle\- Walk, some e.xcellent work has been 

 <lone. ( )n hillsides that originally were bare, and 

 where much of the forest \egetation had been trod- 

 den out, there have been placed under the lofty for- 

 est trees extensive jjlantings of three sjiecies of rho- 

 dodendrons, azaleas and a well-chosen assemblage 

 of such shrubs and ground-plantings as yellow-root, 

 gala.x, trailing arbutus, |)eriwinkle and rhodora. 

 To several spots which once were beautifully orna- 

 mented, ma.sses of ferns were restored. The steej) 

 hillside immediately below the Rocking-Slone Res- 

 taurant has Ijeen almost covered with mountain 

 laurel, and already the elTect is \ery fine. In a 

 com])arativel\- short time. Heaver \"alley Walk will 

 lie one of the most beautiful sights of the Zooloijical 

 Park. 



The area north of Bea\er X'alley Walk, compris 

 ing about forty acres of beautiful woodland, con- 

 tains the den.sest and most heavily-shaded area in 

 the Zoological Park. Once this locality, familiarly 

 known as "The Heech Woods," was celebrated for 

 its wild flowers; but before these grounds were 

 allotted to the Zoological Societx', the tender under- 

 growth was seriously damaged 1)\' \isiiors. Owing 

 to the unfinished condition of Haird Court, and the 

 fad that no entrance from the northeast has been 

 |)ossible, this area has lain untouched and untrod- 

 den, fenced otT by guard-wires, and traversed only 

 by one or two narrow foot-paths. During this 

 interval, the wild flowers have come back to an 

 astonishing extent, and this .spring the ground has 

 been thickly carpeted with violets, hepaticas and 

 spring beauties. The ferns are reappearing in 

 their original number, and the dogwood's blos- 

 soms are unplucked. 



In \iew of the ap|)roaching completion of Haird 

 Court, the Executive Committee of the Zoological 

 Societ)' has ordered the construction of walks 

 through this woodland area, chiefly in order that 

 visitors may ha\i' an ojijiortunity to enjov the 

 charming \erdure. .\s soon as the walks can l;e 

 constructed, the Northeast Kntrance will be opened 

 to \isitors, after which this area will constitute one 

 of the finest woodland attractions of the Zoological 

 Park. The open space on the ])latcau between the 

 Heaver Pond and the Northeast Kntrance will l:c 

 utili/.eil as a play-ground, but the beautiful vegeta- 

 ti<in which surrounds it will be protected by the 

 usual guard-wires. To children and voiing peojile, 

 this will undoubtedlv l:ecome a very attractive spcl. 



On the completed portion of Baird Court, shade- 

 trees have already been ])lanted. The s|)ecies 

 chosen by Mr. (Ireenleaf is the pAiropean linflen, 

 which is expected to yield sufficient shade, without 

 com|iletely over-shadowing the whole of Haird 

 Court. 



