ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



Mammals 

 W. T. Hobs.da 



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Published bi-monthly at the Office of the Society, 

 111 Broadway, New York City. 



Yearly by Mail, $1.00. 



MAILED FREE TO MEMBERS. 



Copyright, 1919, by the Neiv York Zoological Society. 



Each author is responsible for the scientific accuracy 



and the proof reading of his contribution. 



Elwin R. Sanborn, Editor 



Vol. XXII, No. 6. 



November 1919 



AN OUTSIDE PUMPING PLANT FOR 

 THE AQUARIUM 



The capacity of the Aquarium building for 

 the display of aquatic collections is by no means 

 fully developed. 



The double series of ninety-four tanks en- 

 circling the greater part of the interior, is 

 broken on the south side by a section more than 

 fifty-six feet long, devoted entirely to machin- 

 ery. This is equal to one-fifth of the great 

 circle occupied by exhibition tanks. It is a 

 walled-up section, cutting off light and air. both 

 on main floor and balcony, from a building 

 already too dark and poorly ventilated for the 

 comfort of the public ; and it occupies the only 

 space that logically can be used for enlarging 

 the exhibits of the Aquarium. The only expan- 

 sion of the collections that has hitherto been 

 possible has been secured by enlarging certain 

 tanks on the ground floor, and this work has 

 about reached its limits. 



The chief argument in favor of a new position 

 for the pumping and heating plant lies in the 

 defects inherent in its present position. The 

 furnace room is subject to flooding during 

 monthly high tides, and the coal space is limited 

 in capacity and difficult of access, making the 

 expense of operation great- 

 er than is necessary. More- 

 over it is unsanitary and un- 

 comfortable for the men 

 who work there. 



It has been suggested that 

 space be made for the me- 

 chanical equipment of the. 

 Aquarium by excavations 

 below the main floor, but en- 

 gineers do not advise this 

 for several reasons, chiefly 



cost and the difficulty of exculding sea water. 

 The simplest and cheapest solution of the 

 matter unquestionably lies in the removal of all 

 machinery to an outside building. It is pro- 

 posed that it be built on stone piers erected on 

 the rocky reef just behind the Aquarium, its 

 front resting on the edge of the sea wall. The 

 building as planned would be no higher than the 

 outer wall of the Aquarium, and would be prac- 

 tically out of sight of Battery Park except from 

 the sea wall promenade. A sketch of an inex- 

 pensive building that would serve the purpose 

 is presented herewith. C. H. T. 



THE AQUARIUM BOAT 



Owing to labor troubles, the collecting boat 

 which has been under construction for several 

 months has not yet been launched. It now 

 seems probable that the Aquarium will derive 

 little or no benefit from the use of the boat dur- 

 ing the present season. Although work on the 

 hull has been finished, there is considerable work 

 to be done on cabin, engine room and rigging. 



This craft has attracted much attention from 

 local fishermen as a boat for transporting fishes 

 alive. She is strongly built, has a large well, 

 cabin space for four men, and good engine and 

 sail power. 



The delay in construction has been a great 

 disappointment as the Aquarium is in need of 

 collections from local waters, which are now 

 difficult to secure by the ordinary methods. 



The usual autumn shipment of tropical fishes 

 had to be omitted owing to the general wreckage 

 of fishing craft in Florida by the recent destruc- 

 tive storm. 



Our efforts to hire small boats so far have 

 been unavailing, and with a shortage in the 

 force it may be necessary to omit the collecting 

 work usually done in the fall as a safeguard 

 against the long winter season when no collect- 

 ing can be done. 



Unfortunately exhibits of public aquariums 

 cannot be purchased, each institution being 

 necessarily its own purveyor. C. H. T. 



tructure proposed for the pumping plant of the Aquarium. 



