74 REPOET OF THE No. 3 



Appendix No. 31. 

 Rondeau Provincial Park. 



MoEPETH, 4th January, 1913. 



Sir, — I have the honour to suibmit this my report as caretaker and mnger 

 of the Rondeau Provincial Park for the year 1912. 



This has been a wet, cold and backward season, consequently the picnic sea- 

 son was shorter than usual. In the spring when the ice in the Eau broke up, a 

 high wind was blowing which caused the ice to damage the Park dock, knocking 

 it considerably out of shape. I had it levelled up again, and put it into good 

 condition at "a cost of $31.00, and to prevent a repetition of this trouble next spring 

 I am now having the corners of the outer-end crib bound with thin boiler plate 

 steel 4 ft. X 4 ft. x % in. thick. 



The floor and posts in the old open pavilion were showing considerable decay 

 in places, and according to instructions from the Department the building has 

 been partially overhauled, painted, and put into fair condition again, at a cost of 

 $186.00 — painting $140.00, repairing $46.00 This pavilion was built sixteen years 

 ago and has been painted and repaired from time to time ; but as the unpainted floor, 

 posts, etc., have been exposed to the rains and change of weather all this time, 

 they, as well as the under supports of the building, are not in a condition that 

 would warrant a large expenditure in repairs. It should be replaced by a new 

 pavilion in a few years. 



The new drive road through the Park forest is nearing completion, but is 

 costing more than we at first anticipated. Taking the stumps out of the ground 

 and getting them off the roadway was a slow, laborious task under the system of 

 grubbing around them and hauling out and off with rope and tackle. But when 

 we adopted the use of stumping powder and engaged the services of an expert 

 blaster, this part of the work went on more rapidly and satisfactorily. The blast- 

 ing not only jarred the stumps and caused the soil ito leave the roots, but shattered 

 them into pieces so a team could handle them quite easily, and they could be 

 piled in heaps to be burned later. Many of the smaller stumps landed several 

 rods away in the bush, and did not require handling again. The soil being a light 

 sand made it necessary to use more than double the quantity of stumping powder 

 than would be needed in clay or gravel. However, we have the stumps all out, 

 the holes filled in, and most of the hollows or low places in the road bed filled in. 

 This was a tedious part of the work on account of having to get the soil for filling 

 from among the roots or wherever it could be got at. The road is now completed 

 for a distance of about one mile from the picnic ground, that is the driveway is 

 levelled and graded to a width of 16 feet. When the frost goes out of the ground 

 enough to resume levelling, the work will be continued until completed. I might 

 say that the mosquitoes and flies became so troublesome we were compelled to 

 stop work on the road on June 25t'h, and did not begin again till October 15th. 

 These pests were worse than usual ihis year. Had it not been for this delay 

 the new road would have been completed early in the fall of this year. However, 

 we will have it in good shape for the season of 1913. The total cost to date is 

 about $3,641.00. The present high price of labor makes this job cost fully one- 

 third more than it would have ten or twelve years ago. The above prices does not 

 include the gravelling of that portion of the road leading through the picnic 

 grounds. 



