ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 

 BULLETIN 



Published by the New York Zoological Society 



Voi,. XXI 



MARCH, 1918 



Number 2 



IS THE AQUARUM TO HAVE A SQUARE DEAL? 



THE Director of the Aquarium cannot re- 

 train from expressing once more his re- 

 gret at the repeated failures to secure long 

 needed improvement of the building. During 1 

 few days of each month wet coal has to be 

 shovelled into the furnaces by firemen wearing 

 rubber boots and standing knee deep in water. 

 The sea has always invaded the fireroom floor 

 and the underground pipe galleries during new 

 moon tides. This almost impossible condition 

 has been tolerated under constant protest. 



The Aquarium needs to have its mechanical 

 department removed to the unused basement at 

 the front of the building where it can be pro- 

 tected during high tides. The installation of 

 the machinery at the front of the Aquarium will 

 render necessary the creation of a third story. 

 The space vacated by pumps and boilers can be 

 made available for exhibits to good advantage. 



During the high tides one of the pumps be- 

 comes entirely submerged and ceases to operate, 

 and the steam heat is cut off from the entire 

 building until the tide falls; a serious matter 

 in cold weather. The coal storage space is so 

 limited that the Aquarium always has had to 

 depend on two deliveries each week. This win- 

 ter we are operating on the precarious basis of 

 daily coal deliveries. If these should cease for 

 forty-eight hours, the Aquarium would lose its 

 collections, and be put out of business until next 

 summer. 



The high tide of January 1.5 invaded the tin- 

 room. Hooded the ash pits under the boilers, and 

 covered the day's coal supply completely. It al- 

 most covered the iron wheelbarrow from which 



wet coal was shoveled into the furnaces; in fact, 

 the water was so deep, that the rubber hip-boots 

 worn by the fireman were not high enough to 

 protect him. and he was forced to abandon his 

 duties for an hour. 



The return pump was submerged and 

 stopped, so that heat was cut off the entire 

 building all the forenoon. 



For evidence that the above described draw- 

 backs have not been overstated, the reader is 

 invited to study the accompanying photographs 

 which were made in the fireroom of the Aqua- 

 rium on January 1.5, 1918. 



If more evidence would be of interest, the 

 following letter from the Architect of the Park 

 Department is submitted. Mr. Kraus saw the 

 fireroom when it was flooded on October 21, 

 1917: 



CITY OF NEW YORK— DEPARTMENT OF 



PARKS. 



Boroughs of Manhattan anil Richmond. 



Municipal Building, 10th Floor. 



Cabot Ward, Commissioner. 



October 24th, KMT. 

 Mr. C. H. Townsend, Direr/or, 



New York Aquarium. New York. 

 Deab Sir: 



I visited tin- boiler room in tile Aquarium this 

 afternoon to see the conditions there during a high 

 tide. 



I entirely agree with you that the present condi- 

 tions are intolerable. The boiler room is cramped 

 and the coal storage space very limited. 



Having seen the fireman in rubber boots shovel- 

 ling wet eoal into the furnaces, with the ash pits, 

 at tin- same time, half filled with water, I must con- 

 gratulate you on having been able to successfully 



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