NEWS BULLETIN OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 









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EXCAVATING THE AQUATIC RODENTS' POND. 



THE AQUATIC RODENTS' POND. 



Near the southwest corner of the Zoological Park- 

 there has existed, from' the glacial epoch until last Sep- 

 tember, a mosquito-breeding bog of fathomless mud and 

 peat. Its permanent residents were box tortoises, pond 

 turtles, wood frogs, and such small serpents as escaped 

 the zeal of the men and boys who think their highest duty 

 to mankind lies in the destruction of every wild animal. 

 Each year added to the bog a layer of tall grass, and, ex- 

 cept as a sepulchre for the surreptitious interment of ani- 

 mals of the order Ungulata, it was devoid of either use or 

 beauty to man. 



Now, it chanced that the bog in question terminated on 

 the north against a fine tract of virgin forest, from which 

 two long, sheltering arms of timber reached southward. 

 The glade thus enclosed afforded three sheltered sides, 

 admirably adapted to the needs of aviaries. Instantly it 

 became apparent that the situation demanded the conver- 

 sion of the bog into a clear and beautiful pond. Its banks 

 should be covered with grass, sand, and gravel, and its 

 nooks embellished with aquatic plants of species indige- 

 nous to Bronx Park. 



On July 27th the Mayor and the Board of Estimate 

 and Apportionment granted an appropriation of $62,000 

 to meet the expenditures of the present year in preparing 

 the grounds of the Zoological Park. On August 29th the 

 work thus provided for was inaugurated by beginning 

 the excavation for the south pond. The pond was planned 

 by the Zoological Society, and the work involved in its 

 execution is being performed by the Park Department for 

 the Borough of the Bronx, Hon. Aug. Moebus, Commis- 

 sioner, under the direction of Mr. Daniel Ulrich, Chief 

 Engineer of Construction, and Superintendent Johnson. 



'I he task of excavation has been tedious and difficult. 

 So far as solid ground is concerned, the pond is, appar- 

 ently, bottomless. Underneath two 1 feet of rich, black- 



soil lies a bed of soft, cheese-like peat, in which wagons 

 and horses would quickly become engulfed. This un- 

 looked-for condition has made it necessary to keep the 

 teams on the highest level of the bog, and to throw the 

 earth out to them. Every load of this rich earth has been 

 carefully stored up, at various points in the Park, for use 

 in the near future. 



The creation of the south pond serves four good pur- 

 poses. It abates a prehistoric nuisance, it completes a 

 charming landscape, it affords an ideal home for the otter, 

 musk-rat, and other aquatic mammals, and it yields a 

 valuable store of much needed soil. As to the cost of it — 

 well, it has cost more than it would have cost had the bot- 

 tom been of reasonably firm clay or gravel. Under fair 

 circumstances, it would have cost about $3,000. As it is, 

 its completion will involve a total expenditure of about 

 $5,000; but to the Zoological Park and the public it will 

 be worth thrice that sum. 



Mr. Warren H. Manning declares that the black earth 

 now available for forestry operations is worth the entire 

 cost of the pond. The water will be five feet in depth, 

 and will be supplied in a continuous stream, pumped from 

 the Bronx River by means of a hydraulic ram, which will 

 derive its power from the water-fall at the lower end of 

 Lake Agassiz. 



On November 7th, William Masterson began to ex- 

 cavate, at his own expense, a large quantity of earth from 

 Cope Lake, to be used in completing his contract for the 

 construction of the Pelham Avenue roadway. .Since that 

 date a large quantity of earth has been removed from the 

 lower end of the lake, and about one-third of its entire 

 area has been graded down to the bottom level. It is 

 believed that an expenditure of $1,500 of the city fund 

 would complete the excavation of Cope Lake, provided 

 the work were done wholly by contract. Mr. Masterson 

 has now obtained from Cope Lake all the earth that he 

 requires for his purpose. The earth removed was wholly 

 clay. For many reasons it is very important that this 

 lake should be completed before the Park is ODened to 

 the public. 



