TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT 101 
over 1915 in the face of a 4% per cent. decrease in gross re- 
ceipts, denoting rigid economy in operation, as further evidenced 
in a decrease of 12 per cent. in Salaries account in 1916, follow- 
ing a reduction of 11 per cent. in the same account in the pre- 
vious year. 
Rocking Stone Restaurant.—The falling off in gross receipts 
was not out of proportion to the reduction in attendance for the 
year. The exact figures were 5 per cent. for the receipts, and 
7% per cent. for the attendance. But for the unusually high 
prices of supplies, a more satisfactory showing would have been 
made. As it was, all that we were able to do was to make a 
slight gain, and maintain the standard of service. 
Boating.—Late in the year 1915, the work of tearing away 
the old wooden dock at the Boat House was commenced, and the 
site filled in with stone from a near-by apartment house excava- 
tion, delivered and dumped without cost to us. It was our plan 
to have the wall forming the face of the dock built before winter 
so that the concrete surface and finish could be put on after the 
frost had disappeared in the spring, and before the boating sea- 
son opened. 
This could not be done, however, as the contractor who was 
to build the wall failed to carry out his contract at the time the 
work should have been done, and high water followed, prevent- 
ing the completion of the work before winter. No further prog- 
ress could be made until spring, and then high water again de- 
layed the work until it seriously interfered with the boating 
season, and reduced considerably the early receipts. Fortunate- 
ly, the boating season was fully thirty days later than usual, 
which helped the situation to some extent. For several weeks 
boating operations were carried on as efficiently as they could 
be by utilizing one end of the dock that had been completed. 
The work of concreting the entire surface of the dock was fin- 
ished in June. 
The wisdom of this improvement, as well as the reduction 
in boating rates from 35 and 50 cents to 25 and 35 cents per hour, 
respectively, was immediately demonstrated by an increase in 
the business. The four months, July to October inclusive, cover- 
ing the period in which full use could be made of the new dock, 
showed the following increases in gross boating receipts over 
the same months in 1915: July, 37 per cent.; August, 134 per 
cent.; September, 131 per cent., and October, 110 per cent. 
