The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-06-13
THE zoo" FARM.
A pretty Important Part of Bronx
 Park.

A pretty Important Part of Bronx
 Park.
 There Is farm in Bronx park where | radishes and lettuce are being planted
 and turnips, cabbages, and potatoes | will be cultivated in due season. AL ready roosters are growing over the luxuriousness of their surroundings and hens are cackling about eggs laid
 on grounds which q millionaire could not purchase for love or money All l though the farm, in common with all | the park lands, belongs to the people, it is doubtful if score of New York 6 citizens have ever heard of it, and fewer still have seen 1t.
 The farm occupies six acres of the rolling lands north of the woods which reach out from each bank of the Bronx river in wild luxuriousness in the New York geological reservation. These woods rich in wild flowers tangle of blackberry bushes in many places, the haunt of ferns and mosses, and other moisture-loving plants at other points have been left for the visitors to Zoo- lpEICdl pdlh lO Ndlluel OuSi dl VIII, unrestricted by fences or warnings to Keep off the grass
 Due north from the farm Is the quaint old village of Bronxdale, distant some two blocks, and which may be reached by trolley cars from Harlem. Once there, the visitor, although still well within the boundaries of Greater New York, finds himself surrounded by conditions almost as primitive as those of half ca1tury ago, the only marks of modern progress being the trolley cars an occasional electric light, and the broad parkway which divides the botanical gardens from the Geological park
 And the farm is as primitive as its surroundings but it's practical value is already so well established that many additions and improvements were be- gun while snow yet whitened the ground.
 Croton water Is unknown in this por- tion of the park, and well water has to be depended upon for irrigating and for other purposes. Black mold, represent ing the vegetable growth of countless seasons and slow decay under the wa ters of a lake long since extinct, is mainly depended upon to enrich the soil. An immense deposit of such mold was found in another portion of Zoo logical park, and has been carefully | as the most valuable of fer tilizers.
 A dugout 15 feet by "A feet in size axcavated in the side of hill with a wooden ventilating shaft protruding form the solid ground, is lsed for the storage of vegetables dur ng the winter. Such storage places were common enough during Revolu- ionary days, and for preserving pro- luce from frost can scarcely be said to lave been improved upon since.
 The farm was planned and Is man lged by Hermann w, Merkel, forester f Geological park. To understand its importance it is only necessary to recall he fact that the majority of animals, irds and reptiles already centered in he park are vegetarians or fruit or eed eaters: while many of the carni- ora are only party carnivorous, and equire a large percentage of farm roducts to maintain health. Last year } tons of beets, mangel wurzel, and arrots, nearly 15,000 heads of lettuce nd roots of celery, cabbage by the and melons and pumpkins V the thousands were raised, besides ctatoes by the barrel and punches of adishes and other small garden truck. ( his year the yield is expected to be Z reater It is safe to say that the su- erior freshness and quality of these {
 . yes of very many of the more deli