New-York tribune., 1912-02-13
HIGH PRICES AFFECT PETS
Eentrai Park Monkeys Have Sup
ply of Eggs Cut OFF.
! HIPPO BOARD is 81 A DAY
Elephants, Lions, Tigers and
Cows Cost More to Keep,
Bill Snyder Says.

They're leading the simple life in the
rentral Park menagerie, the hippos, lions
fnonkeys and all the other exhibits thaV
are the property Of the city's institution
IN the mark There's a reason-only one
reason. II IS the high cost Of living The
monkeys haven't seen an egg In TWO
months. They used TO get one apiece every
day before breakfast, according TO Patrick
Keenan,. who is the overseer Of that COL
lection of simians, which so often is In the
pubIic eve 1t would be like Offering them
pearls now TO feed them eggs, said Keenan,.
The only luxury they have is milk. ana
that with plenty Of water in it. for the
supply is but five quarts day, and there
are sixty monkeys to drink it, But there
are bvdrants on the menagerie premises,
"Biu" Snyder the head keeper, and
Keenan we're discussing the high cost OF
living yesterday. They both said that
rooner or later the jungle folk would take
10 the tall timbers unless the chickens did
their duty and the mddlemen reduce the
prices.
What are the monkeys getting now?'
said Snyder repeating question he had
been asked We'll, we're feeding them
onions. potatoes, bananas, bread and a lit
fle milk. It used to cost about seven cents
a day 10 keep monkey. but now it costs
10 or 12 cents. That's easy. Just think
how much more it costs now TO feed
hippo than IT used TO.
"Why, ten years ago YOU could board
bippo for 60 cents a day. 1t costs 81 day
nov, and sometimes more Then there are
the elephants 1t costs near s. 10 day TO
board Hattie and Jewel, the two elephants
In the menagerie. Fifteen years ago you
could feed an elephant for 50 cents day.
Those were the happy days. That included
some luxuries. The only thing the ele-
phants get TO excite their tastes now is a
package Of peanuts or popcorn and piece
of chewing gum now and then.
There's nothing the matter with the
appettes Of the two elephants, The
trouble is in the cost of living. Hay costs
go a ton now and il used to be Sl5 ton.
An elephant can get away with half bale
of hay a day. besides the trimmings that
generally are fed to him. Once week
we give bran to Hattie and Jewel.
They think every Saturday is a holiday,
because they get the bran then. The other
day one of the elephants broke open sack
OF oats and consumed nearly thrce-quar
ters Of it. I didn't blame the elephant.
But it cost about 81 that day TO pay the
elephant's board"
The meat question: however, is the one
big item in the menagerie bill, according
10 Bill" The heaviest meat eater is
Dick. the Siberian tiger, and the next
heaviest, Leo, one Of the lions.
Dick eats about eighteen pounds OF
meat day. said Snyder. LEO runs
close second. with sixteen pounds. You
have to be millionaire to keep a lion or
tiger under present conditions. The price
OF meat bought at contract rate is eight
cents and more a pound. il costs about
81 40 day 10 board Dick and 81 % a day
TO board Leo.
Every day except Sunday 225 pounds OF
meat are distributed among the animals in
the lion house. There are eleven lions,
two pumas four leopards and two tigers
IN that structure.
Even the circus men are complaining
about the cost Of living, said Snyder.
''There was one circus fellow here yestcr-
day scouting around New York for freaks
for his side show. lie said that the bearded
lady and the missing links were holding
out for higher salaries this year. because
they said they couldn't live on their pres
ent scale Of wages
The only thing in the circus It doesn't
cost moro to feed is a snake, and that's
so about this mcnaeerie. We've got a
couple of pythons here that have been
asleep all the winter Maybe when they
wake up the price OF guinea pigs will have
gone down and We can give them a square
meal
OF all the hoofed stock in the menagerie
the sacred COWS are the biggest caters,
Snyder said.
There are now eight animals of that
breed in the citys collection, and they
average about So cents day for board. 1t
used to cost % cents TO feed them, and the
stork i'm former years had not been so
assiduous in his attention to that part Of
the collection. In the last year three
sacred calves have been born. They eat as
much, however, as the older animals.