REPORT OP THE SECRETARY. 29 



of grounds; the construction and repair of all buildings, inclosures, 

 roads, walks, and bridges. Of this amount the increased price of 

 necessary provisions and labor brought the cost of maintenance alone 

 to about $85,000. It was therefore possible to do little toward per- 

 manent construction or improvement of the more or less temporary 

 shelters, roads, walks, and inclosures which lack of adequate funds 

 at the time of the inception of the park made it necessary to build. 

 It has not been possible as yet to develop the park to the standard 

 that such institutions usually attain at the capitals of great nations. 



The improvements made during the year were for the most part 

 those necessary for the safety of visitors. A series of yards for bears 

 and ten new yards for foxes and wolves were constructed, however, 

 and many of the roads treated with tar preparations to prevent dust 

 and abrasion. The superintendent of the park states that there are 

 needed : A new aquarium, the present building being originally a hay 

 shed, now in a most dilapidated condition ; a general aviary and out- 

 of-door shelter for hardy birds; an inclosure for sea lions and seals; 

 an antelope house; a more centrally located office building; a restau- 

 rant and retiring rooms for visitors; and further improvements to 

 roads and walks. 



Of the 576 accessions to the collections during the year, 124 were 

 gifts to the park, 12 were received in exchange, 307 were purchased, 

 9 were deposited, 110 were born and hatched in the National Zoolog- 

 ical Park, and 14 were captured in the Yellowstone National Park. 

 It is expected that the collections of the Zoological Park will benefit 

 either directly or indirectly through the Smithsonian African expe- 

 dition under Mr. Theodore Koosevelt, which left this country in 

 March and is at present engaged in gathering specimens of fauna 

 in Africa. 



The appropriations during the eighteen years since it was estab- 

 lished have permitted of the erection of only three permanent build- 

 ings, all of the others having necessarily been constructed cheaply 

 and as temporary makeshifts to meet the successively urgent require- 

 ments of the growing collections. The result is that at the present 

 time most of the animals are housed in poor wooden buildings and 

 exposed cages, which are not only inadequate and unsightly but also 

 entail a larger annual expense for repairs and maintenance than the 

 dictates of economy would seem to justify. Elaborate and ornate 

 buildings are not called for, but the necessity for substantial struc- 

 tures adapted to the requirements of the different groups of animals 

 can not be too strongly urged. 



It is also to be borne in mind that the Zoological Park is a part of 



the great park system extending through Kock Creek Valley. Its 



main roads are continuous with those leading up the creek and are 



traversed by the same vehicles, including heavy automobiles, which 



16362—09 3 



