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lost or proved unfertile. Perhaps a selection of seeds could bo procured of varieties that are considered worth experimenting with. 8. Cement. —Several establishments now manufacture Portland cement and hydraulic lime. The materials are found abundantly in convenient situations for establishing works; and the experience of concrete structures, both for ordinary buildings and massive works, has created a strong public opinion in their favour. I believe that artificial hollow concrete stone will become the chief building material in Wellington and many other parts of the colony where natural building material is scarce. The chief defect in the cement produced in the colony is its irregularity of strength, which makes contractors chary of using it, especially when the imported cement; is so cheap; but this will be overcome in time, it cannot be doubted, by the employment of better skilled labour, under the superintendence of those who have been brought up in the business. Unfortunately there has been hitherto too much of the sanguine amateur element in the management of this and many other branches of industry developed in this colony. 9. Goal. —The important question of utilizing the enormous quantities of brown-coal slack for the manufacture of compressed fuel, has been repeatedly urged, but the field is still open for practical efforts in that direction. There is no doubt that it would be a most remunerative industry, for the reasons that were brought prominently forward by the Select Committee on Native Fuel (1.-7, 1876 —copy attached). 10. Pottery and Stoneware. —Large establishments have been erected in all the chief centres for making bricks, tiles, pipes, and all kinds of coarse pottery. The only effort to establish a factory for delf-ware was at Milton, in Otago; and the works were unfortunately destroyed by fire, causing great loss to the workmen, who were also the co-operative proprietors. But the quality of the ware was excellent, and the designs were rapidly improving. As the same clays, of most excellent quality, similar to the Bohemian clays, are found in many parts of the colony, and the consumption of such goods is large —the freight and breakage being a heavy charge—l think there must be a fair field for this industry. 11. Glassware. —Only one or two glassworks are established, and chiefly make lamp glasses, chimneys, and the like. The enormous importation of glassware and glass bottles, and the consequent abundant supply of broken glass for re-smelting, has made it almost unnecessary to makethe glass from the raw material; but this abounds, of all qualities. The industry is worth the attention of any persons skilled in the trade that desire a fresh outlet, and could bring with them the necessary workmen. The statistics of imports will afford the best basis for answering inquiries on this and kindred questions. 12. Ironworks. —A bonus is offered both for pig iron and for wrought iron. There is only one iron furnace at work in the colony—at Onehunga—the ore used being black ironsand from Manukau Heads, and the product being bloom iron, obtained by a single process. The venture has not been very successful so far. At Collingwood the foundations were laid for blast furnaces, but the property passed into the hands of Messrs. Brogden, and nothing further has been done, except working the coal and making experimental trials for cement. The locality is very favourable for ironworks, as along with the coal-seams spathic iron ore occurs, and in the vicinity there are large deposits of limonite and hematite. There are many other localities where extensive deposits of limonite occur along with brown coal and limestone. 13. Paper-making. —One or two mills, for wrapping-paper only, are at work, and a bonus is offered for printing-paper. In 18711 made the following suggestions, founded on experiments in the laboratory. The action of the alkali upon the fibres of Phormium tenax appears to be that of altering, and probably thinning, the cell-wall, so as to render it capable of absorbing water with rapidity. The fact that the Phormium fibre can be reduced by a single process to the half-stuff of the paper-maker, but having the very unusual property of being composed of complete fibre-cells, having an equal length of about half an inch, and at the same time possessing a pure colour and glossy lustre, may perhaps lead to the introduction of a totally new class of manufacture, by which a material will be obtained with even greater facility than ordinary paper, of fine quality, and at the same time possessing an even texture, cohesive strength, and body. After the proper form is given to the fibre by taking advantage of its gelatinous condition when wet, there would, be no difficulty in drying it in contact with such material as would prevent the fibres again absorbing water. (" Phormium Tenax," by Dr. Hector, p. 85.) This suggested method for preparing a material from the New Zealand flax (Phormium), by a pulping process, which would have nearly all the strength and properties of a woven material, and could be made waterproof if required, has never yet been taken up by any one. I believe there is an immense outlet for Phormium in this direction. The difficulty is, that it would be a new material to the market. Moreover, since the demand for Phormium hemp has decreased the plant has been largely destroyed and the flax-swamps drained, so that there is not now the same quantity available ; but it could easily be propagated again from the best varieties. The value of paper imported last year was £115,394, so there should be a fair opening for this business. As for supply of material, no rags were used and less than forty tons were exported last year, so that there must be abundance of this material going to waste in the colony, considering that the annual import of cotton goods, which must pass in time into paper-making rags, exceeds 5,000 tons, and £210,000 in value. 14. Fisheries. —The natural wealth of the New Zealand fisheries is as yet almost undeveloped, and the efforts in this direction have been very crude and entered on without the least regard to the knowledge of the subject which is necessary. The establishment of small fishing communities in connection with fish-curing factories is what is required. ..The local supply is very capricious and irregular in all the centres of population, and might be regulated by the application of the freezing process for preserving the fish. The large steamships would alone absorb a large quantity of frozen fish, and some of the better kinds could even be placed successfully in that form on the London market. Australia also offers a large market, as the fish on that coast are much inferior to those of New Zealand. But the most steady and largest outlet for the fisheries industry