Arizona republican., 1909-03-08
CITY OF 20,OOO,OO0
 PREDICTED FOR 1855
Figures Compiled by Engineers Place New Works Population at Over 20,oc0, 0,ooo-Daneerous Dental Work on Zoo's Wickedest Alligator.

New York. March Tn a little more
 than one generation from the present
 day, that is in 1850, this city, accord
 ing to the figures of experts, will be
 not only the largest in the world, but
 one which in population will surpass
 anything now dreamed of. Engineers
 who have been compiling data in this
 connection assert that at the half cen
 tury mark New York will have a pOpu
 lation of 19,25O,OOO. or more than twice
 the present population of the whole
 state. These figures are based on the
 growth for the past 119 years, that is,
 since 1T90. In 1910 it is estimated
 the population will be 4, S19.00O. which
 will have increased to 7,000, ,00O in 1920,
 to 9.SOO,0OO in 1880, to 13.7OO,0O0 in
 l940. and finally to 19.250.000 in 1850.
 Of the five boroughs which constitute
 the greater city, Brooklyn, it is fig
 ured, will then be the largest with
 7.G00,000, while Manhattan, the portion
 of the city below 125th street. will
 have 2,000,000, or practically no more
 than at present. The Bronx to the north of l25th street, will have 4,000,- OOO; Queens, to the eastward of Brooklyn, 6,O0O,000. and Richmond, that is, Staten Island, 25O. .00O. Where this total population of 192500O0 will
 carry on its business is a good deal of a problem, and its transportation will necessitate the honeycombing of the whole area with subways and tun- nels. It appears probable indeed that the proposal now under consideration to install continuous moving platforms fr,
 ed. It is somewhat easier to figure where this enormous population will live since the report of the engineers, by whom the figures have been com piled. states that within the present limits of the greater city there are at present available 172. .O00 acres of land. not including parks or swamp lands
 This area could accommodate the whole population at the rate of a little more than one hundred to the acre, a figure which while it might mean congestion iE rural districts. is mo- where near the limit for skyscraping apartment houses and flats
 Tinkering with the teeth of a full grown alligator would seem to be about the last thing sane man would attempt. Nevertheless that was just what vas done at the Zoo this week when several dental surgeons got busy with the teeth of BOsco, a twelve foot long and exceedingly savage alligator. The reason for treating Bosco was not | because he had a tooth ache. but be- cause of his murderous tendencies 1 Within the last two weeks he has kill ] ed five other alligators by sinking his l teeth int soft spot which exists in the skulls of | these animals. Accordingly. it was de- | cided, not to draw. but to trim Bosco's | teeth with which he had been so busi- | ly repaying the grudge he has held i against the whole tribe ever since | Nose, a companion. bit off one of his | legs some time ago. The first at 1 tempts to corral BOscO were highly i exciting and resulted in his knocking 1 three keepers into his pool with blow | of his tail. He was finally lassoed. | however. and dragged struggling into :. the dentists chair, which in this case was an iron barred cage. After he had been tickled with a twelve-foot | crowbar he opened his mouth so wide |. that a piece of timber could be slipped | in. Then he was bound securely on a gangplank with ropes two and one half inches thick. Taking hack saws the men began to saw off his teeth Twenty-four saw blades were broken before the job was finished, but Bosco finally went back into the pool unable to continue his career of murder For those persons who have had experi- ences with dentists, and who may have pity for poor Bosco. the curator of the Zoo says that there are no nerves in an alligator's teeth and that there was no suffering.