To the Commissioners of the State Reservation at Niagara:

Gentlemen. I have the honor to submit herewith the report of the work accomplished during the fiscal year ending September 30, 1911.

The care of the trees claimed the energies of the labor force in the periods of open weather in the winter and early spring, and the beginning of a general cleaning up in the woods of the dead and fallen timber, brush and vines was made. Several of the laborers became expert in the practice of tree-surgery and a large number of trees were pruned and cared for. One spraying with arsenate of lead was given to the shade trees in June and this proved sufficient to prevent injury to the foliage by insect pests.

Road work was begun at as early a date as possible and before the heavy summer traffic set in all the roads were in as good repair as the limited means at our disposal for this purpose would allow. The riverway which gets as much heavy traffic as a secondary street in a large city and a very large amount of automobile and light traffic was resurfaced with crushed stone. This street, serving as it does between Falls and Niagara streets, as a city street for Niagara Falls on one side and a park drive for the Reservation on the other, should be paved with something more durable than limestone macadam. It has stood up very well, however, since its resurfacing and oiling last spring. Between Falls and Bridge streets where it was once an important city street the Riverway is now a park drive, and its original width sixty feet was far greater than necessary. It has been narrowed this year to thirty feet and thirty feet on the east side of the drive added to the parking, which has been graded, seeded down to lawn and planted with flowering shrubs.

To provide a proper approach to the new comfort station at the Cave of the Winds a stretch of macadam road one hundred and twenty yards in length was built cutting off a dangerous

curve in the old road and running into the latter near the layby at the Horseshoe Fall. The old road was then plowed out and the stone thus obtained was used to crown and repair the paths in the forest. The road between the Horseshoe Fall and the Three Sister islands was spiked, recrowned and portions resurfaced.

As soon as the road surface became sufficiently warm an application of heavy Standard asphalt road oil was given the entire system. Last year this had rendered the roads dustless throughout the season at a fraction of the cost of sprinkling with water, and it was equally successful this season.

To overcome the stiff climb up the path from Terrapin Rock at the Horseshoe Fall and to open up a beautiful and hitherto inaccessible portion of Goat island a trail was built from Terrapin Rock up the south bank of the island in the direction of the Three Sister islands. It joins the upper path at a point commanding a magnificent outlook over the mile-wide stretch of the Canadian rapids. Later it may be continued along the old crib work at the water's edge to the Three Sister islands.

The meadow at the upper end of Goat island which was plowed last year was cultivated throughout the season to kill the growth of sumach, thistles, plantain and other undesirable weeds which formerly held full sway there. Over six hundred cubic yards of stone were picked off the eight acres and piled up for future use on the roads. Several thousand yards of soil were obtained during the summer from construction work in the city at prices varying from nothing to twelve cents a yard, and this was used to deepen the soil in many portions where bed-rock was very close to the surface and to give a proper grade to the verges of the road. Early in September the field was seeded down to grass and a good catch obtained. A start has already been made to restore by planting the original appearance of this part of Goat island, but this is attended with some difficulty, for holes must be blasted out of the solid rock and soil brought in before anything of greater growth than a sumach can be assured.

Several weeks in the early autumn were devoted to the reclamation of the Second Sister island, which had lost its tree growth and much of its covering of soil during a severe southwest storm

and consequent high water several years ago. A breakwall of dry stone sixty yards in length was built following closely the original shore line, back of which several hundred cubic yards of clay loam were filled. After settling this winter it will be planted and the island restored as nearly as possible to its original condition.

Between three thousand and four thousand trees and shrubs were planted during the season just passed. The unsightly group of shops at Port Day belonging to the Hydraulic Power Company will be screened from view from the Loop drive by a few seasons' growth of the material planted there. The strip of parking along Riverway from Falls street to Main street was planted with masses of flowering shrubs. Several portions of the steep bank on the island have been planted to prevent erosion. The original stand of white cedar at the new Public Comfort Station at the Cave of the Winds has been largely increased by planting and every effort has been made to give that building an attractive setting without detracting from the natural beauty of its surroundings. The entire length of the old gravel road along the south bank of Goat island has been plowed, the gravel removed to repair roads and paths and soil drawn in, graded, seeded to grass and planted. All the trees planted are of species indigenous to the region or of known hardiness and desirability. The majority of stuff has been well-grown nursery stock, but a large number of red cedars, oaks and elms have been collected within a radius of ten miles of the falls and the percentage of loss in transplanting them has been very small.

An experiment was made this year to increase the efficiency of the park lighting system by substituting sixty candlepower, fortythree volt Mazda series lamps for the existing thirty-two candlepower one hundred ten volt carbon filament lamps. Where this was done the light was practically doubled and a saving of forty per cent. in power effected, and it is proposed that the old lamps be gradually replaced by Mazdas until all the poles are equipped with the latter. Furthermore, the loss of lamps through stealing will be almost entirely done away with. All lamp poles have been painted this season, each pole has had an unobtrusive number stenciled on it to aid in reporting "dead" poles or damaged

lamps, and a key-map of the lighting system to correspond with the numbers has been made.

During the year ending September 30, 1911, there have been eight known attempts at suicide on the Reservation, three of whom succeeded in ending their lives by drowning. Four were rescued before they could be swept over the falls, and one tried unsuccessfully to shoot himself. The bodies of three suicides were recovered, two of these being identified. Two persons intending to commit suicide were identified and held before they could make an attempt and turned over to their friends or relatives.

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Twenty-nine arrests were made by Reservation officers. total of $215 in fines and 45 days in the county jail were imposed. One was committed to a State Training School and three were ordered from the city.

Respectfully submitted,

WILLIAM E. HARRIES,

Superintendent.