velocity and
direction of the wind, the fall of rain and snow, and for ascertaining
the variation of the temperature, etc. The establishment is very
complete, and a portion of it is open to visitors. The basement floors
of the building are occupied by the offices of the Central Park
authorities, and a police station.

[Picture: THE MARBLE ARCH.]

The open space surrounding the Museum edifice is taken up with buildings
and cages containing the living animals, birds, and reptiles of the
collection. They are admirably arranged, and the occupants are all fine
specimens of their species. These accommodations are only temporary, as
the Commissioners are now engaged in the construction of a Zoological
Garden, on Eighth avenue, between Seventy-seventh and Eighty-first
streets, immediately opposite the park, with which it will be connected
by means of a tunnel under the Eighth avenue.

Just north of the pond, and on the high ground above it, is a pretty
gothic structure of stone, known as _The Dairy_. It is contiguous to the
South Transverse Road, and supplies may be taken to it without using the
park thoroughfares. Pure milk and refreshments, especially such as are
suited to children, may be obtained at a moderate cost.

A short distance from the Dairy is the children's summer house, near
which is a cottage with toilette rooms, closets, etc., for the use of
ladies and children. Near by are a number of self-acting swings, and a
little to the north is the Carrousel, a circular building, containing a
number of hobby-horses, which are made to gallop around in a circle by
the turning of a crank in the centre of the machine. To the west of this
building is the base-ball ground, covering some forty or fifty acres. A
commodious brick cottage has been erected here for the accommodation of
the ball players.

The paths from the Fifty-ninth street gates converge at the Marble Arch,
which lies a little to the northeast of the Dairy. This is one of the
most beautiful and costly structures in the park, and consists entirely
of marble. Its purpose is to carry the main carriage drive over the
foot-path without interrupting the level, and at the same time to furnish
a pleasant access from the lower level of the Southwest Park to the Mall.
A broad double stairway, to the right and left, leads from the Mall to
the interior of the Arch. On either side runs a marble bench, on which,
in the summer, the visitor