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It will be seen from the return, that although the photographing is a long way a-head of the printing,, there is a considerable arrear of work in the gallery. Mr. McColl's photographic assistant has been wholly engaged upon silver prints of views taken by the former photographer, Mr. Deverill. Of these, nine-and-a-half sets, each of one hundred and fourteen plates, have been printed, and there are three sets still to print, and it must be borne in mind that sun printing is a very slow process compared with press printing. When these three sets are disposed of the assistant will be available to be taught the art of photo-lithography. The maps photographed for the Survey department are invariably printed to a definite scale or even number of miles, chains, feet or links, on the ground to an inch of paper. Other departments for which work is done, will, no doubt, gradually realise the advantage of the exactness of the process adopted byMr. McColl, and instead of having plans printed on such scales as say 3 feet 10 inches to an inch, 3 feet 3 inches to an inch, _re, will have them on the practically much more convenient scale of say 3 feet, 4 feet, &c, to an inch. A Barron, Office Surveyor.