TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT 93 



Gate Receipts. — The receipts for admission at the entrances 

 made a very substantial gain over the previous year, amount- 

 ing to $11,577.20 as against $8,864.20 in 1918. The entire sum 

 was placed to the credit of the Improvement and Repair Ac- 

 count. On account of labor difficulties the work carried on 

 from the funds in this account during 1919 was less extensive 

 than in some previous years, with the result that the year closed 

 with a balance of $12,880.86, a sum sufficient to carry on the 

 work for a year. I suggest, therefore, that Gate Receipts for 

 1920 be credited to the Animal Fund, as the demands on thac 

 fund are likely to be very heavy in the near future. 



Riding Animals. — This division of the Privileges had an 

 exceptionally good year. The riding elephant was out early in 

 the season and worked later than usual, adding quite materially 

 to the total result. While it was extremely difficult to get boys 

 as extra help on Sundays who would take proper interest and 

 care in the handling of children, we went through the season 

 without an accident of any serious nature. 



REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND CONSTRUCTION 

 FOR THE YEAR 1919. 



Hermann W. Merkel, Chief Constructor and Forester; E. H. Costain, 

 Assistant Forester. 



From the point of view of Park maintenance, the past 

 year has been the most unsatisfactory of all of the twenty years 

 that have gone before. Owing to the reduction of the appro- 

 priation from the city, many economies were necessary in all 

 the departments, but the Department of Maintenance and Con- 

 struction suffered the most of all. 



The force, which had been placed on the lowest possible 

 effective basis during the previous year, owing to war condi- 

 tions, was further reduced to a large extent, and the leaving 

 of a number of the older and more skilfull employees to obtain 

 better pay elsewhere, made it impossible for the remaining staff 

 to live up to any program, no matter how carefully prearranged ; 

 more urgent work, that had to be taken care of immediately, 

 always upsetting the program. 



