which drains a valley about IS miles long. Even in the driest seasons 

 the volume of water carried down by the Bronx River is sufficient to 

 keep the lakes well filled. The areas of still water available for animal 

 collections are very generous for an institution like this, and are highly 

 prized. 



The Waterfall. — At the lower end of Lake Agassiz, and about 300 

 feet above the Boston Road Bridge, is a natural waterfall nearly 12 feet 

 in height, where the Bronx River falls over a rugged ledge of pink 

 granite. In times of high water the foaming flood that thunders over 

 the rocks makes an imposing spectacle, and it constitutes a most unusual 

 feature to be found in a city park. 



Forests. — The crowning glory of the Zoological Park is the mag- 

 nificent forest growth which covers, thickly or sparsely, about two-thirds 

 of its land area. It consists chiefly of white, scarlet, black, red and 

 pin oaks, tulip, sweet gum, hickory, beech, sassafras, maple, wild 

 cherry, hornbeam, dogwood, tupelo, hemlock and cedar ; but there 

 are. at least thirty other species of trees and shrubs. It is safe to say 

 that nowhere else within fifty miles of New York can there be 

 found any more beautiful forests than those in the central and eastern 

 portions of the Park. Throughout the enclosed grounds, it is absolutely 

 necessary that visitors should be restricted to the walks ; for otherwise 

 the feet of our millions of visitors would quickly destroy every ground 

 plant. 



Arrangement of Collections. — Inasmuch as the physical features of 

 the Zoological Park grounds were important factors in locating the 

 various collections of animals, a perfect zoological arrangement was 

 impossible. The existing plan represents the limit of acceptable possi- 

 bilities in grouping related animals. 



Opportunities for out-of-door life are available to seven-tenths of 

 all the verterbrates. Only a few reptiles, some of the smaller monkeys, 

 and a number of the birds require indoor confinement the year round. 

 The ranges for hoofed and horned animals are many times more com- 

 modious than those of the very largest of the Old World zoological 

 gardens. 



To those who enter by way of the Subway, the historic Boston Post 

 Road leads to the Boston Road Entrance at the southeast corner of the 

 Park. 



The Zoological Park idea is w r ell illustrated in the twenty acres at 

 this point which are devoted to the herd of American Bison. This space 

 has been reduced from time to time, as the Bison have been taken out 

 to form other herds. In 1907, fifteen were sent to the Wichita Forest 

 Preserve, and in 1913, a number to the Wind Cave National Park, South 



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