1921-22 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS 127 



Highway. Many tourists avail themselves of the opportunity of visiting our 

 beautiful park, and as it covers an area of about 5,000 acres and is thickly 

 wooded with all kinds of timber, it affords a great deal of interest and pleasure 

 to lovers of nature. 



Both the Eau side and the Lake side are equally popular for the building 

 of cottages, and the surveyed lots on both sides are nearly all taken. Lots 

 have been in steady demand this last summer. Twenty-two new cottages 

 have been erected and twenty-six or more are to be built next season. There 

 are now between fifty and sixty cottages in the park. 



Last summer a large number of people availed themselves of the tenting 

 privileges of the park, and many white tents were pitched in the shade of the 

 wide-spreading oaks, while some were up among the "Pines," about a mile up 

 the lake shore. 



A certain amount of lumbering was done last winter by taking out dead and 

 deteriorated timber, which was sawn up into different grades of lumber, and will 

 be used for building and repairing whatever may be necessary in the park. As 

 we purchased a planer, this year we are able to put all our own material in shape 

 for building, as otherwise we would have to draw it a distance of 12 miles to get 

 it sized and dressed for use. 



This providing of lumber ready to use made it possible for us to reconstruct 

 and repair the old pavilion into a new and up-to-date one, and it is now in good 

 condition for the use of the public in holding public gatherings or for convenient 

 shelter when needed. 



One thing that was needed very much was the supplying of hot and cold 

 water to the public, A new building was therefore erected in which a hot water 

 system was installed. This has proved a great boon to the large picnics which 

 come here from great distances, as it has supplied all demands so far, being 

 equal to the occasion in the case of one of the largest picnics ever held here— 

 that of the Howard Councillors and U.F.O., which was held on the 26th of 

 August — the crowd being estimated at around 30,000. A large number of new 

 . tables and benches were also made this year and placed in the picnic grounds 

 for the convenience of the public. 



As the park has been so well patronized this year, the public store and 

 restaurant did a thriving business, the largest of any previous year. 



Last winter several hundred loads of gravel were drawn down the beach, 

 a distance of some four miles, to be used as needed for cement work and repairing 

 of roads. The roads are sandy and they need quite a lot of attention, as holes 

 are very easily worn in them by the constant traffic. 



One feature which was an additional attraction to the park this year, was 

 the introduction of a good, well-equipped launch, built by a private party, and 

 used for excursions on Rondeau Bay, and also for running excursions to Erieau 

 and Erie Beach, as well as to other summer resorts to the west of Rondeau Park. 

 This is something that has been needed for some time, and it has proved very 

 popular. 



We have had a fairly successful year in rearing pheasants and we have 

 supplied many eggs to people outside the park for propagation purposes. 



The wild geese and wild turkeys do not increase in numbers very rapidly 

 as there are too many enemies to permit of the young birds coming to maturity. 



Deer are very plentiful and are of considerable interest to the visitors. 

 The marshes contain great quantities of muskrat. Some trapping of these rats 

 is done from year to year. 



