82 REPOET OF THE No. 3 



Crown property now of value, and but few houses on the patented islands. It 

 is true that this 'beauty was not an inalienable part of the property, for the pine was 

 not sold and the destruction of the pine would destroy much of the charm of 

 the neighborhood, as there is no fringe of hemlock along the shores, as in Muskoka, 

 to conserve the wooded appearance. 



Many islets have been numbered that would have been omitted in earlier 

 days, for several reasons. Firstly, the instructions were strict as to this and also 

 the fact was sufficiently clear (from my experience) that most people desired to 

 control what they termed rocks, (viz. : islets of very small acreage with a few 

 shrubs or treelets on them), when opposite their property, and further, that 

 property was being acquired already in the neighborhood that was second i<,t 

 least, and to be on the safe side everything that possibly could command any 

 sale in the future was numbered. 



In describing the islands, the desirability for residence, when the position 

 is good, will vary with the demand. It is evident that people will now buy and 

 build on property that formerly would not have been looked at for a moment. 



In the division 'of the large islands the length of shore line allotted to each 

 parcel depended firstly on the requisites for residence, viz.: site, harborage, etc., 

 but in many cases the value or desirability of the land was so small that the 

 parcels were made large to avoid the time and expense of divisions which might 

 never be utilized or not needed for an indefinite time. In fact, many divisions 

 were made with the feeling that labour was being lost as no market would be 

 obtainable for a long time and in fact a large proportion of the entire survey was 

 considered as valuable solely for the sake of having an accurate map. 



The numbering of the islands was intended to be as consecutive on the ground 

 as possible, of course. It is manifestly impossible to have this in every direction; 

 also, in exceptional cases the numbering is quite irregular on account of previous 

 omission from one cause or another. The islands are painted with Eoman 

 numerals in white lead and oil and where trees were not blazed and carved with 

 the number of the island, solid pine posts were used, the upper part squared and 

 carved with the number and the lower part left in the round. The posts were 

 cut on the mainland, out of view, and no destruction of timber on the islands was 

 allowed. 



The cost of the survey was possibly greater than it would have been with 

 no previous surveys as the work would have been much more straightforward. 

 Certainly the use of the private survey plans increased the cost of draughting 

 considerably an^ held back that part of the work very materially in time of 

 accomplishment. A considerable saving of time to the surveyor would also have 

 been effected if there had been no previous patents to deal with. 



I have the honor to be. 



Sir, 



Your obedient servant, 



(Signed) A. G. Ardagh. 



The Honourable, the Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines, 

 Toronto, Ont 



