31

C—la

Summation. —Taking the proposed line as a through one to Ougaruhe, we have, — & s. cl. Inglewood to Makahu (16 of which to make) ... 30 miles ... 6,836 0 0 Makahu to Man gapapa ... ... 26 miles ... 12,580 0 0 Mamgapapa to Mangaroa ... ... 18 miles ... 10,872 151 0 Mang&roa to Ongaruhe ... ... ... 26i miles ... 7,549 15 0 Inglewood to Ongaruhe (road to make, 86J miles) 100 i miles ... £37,838 10 0 Gravelling, 100*- miles, MOO a mile ' ... ... ... 40,200 0 0 Thus, to form and gravel a loft, road ... ... ... £78,038 10 0 ''" From Inglewood to the Central Taramouku, fourteen miles, the road is through a settled district. Taramouku to the second crossing of Waitara the land is laid off ready for selection— 22,000 acres of first-class and second-class land. Prom the Waitara to the Makahu jun.ction.jhe country is all fit for settlement purposes. Taking a belt ten miles wide, it gives 90,000 acres, 6,000 of which is in the Pohukura Block ; the remainder being Crown land, 20,000 of which is suitable for moderate-sized holdings, the balance pastoral, and all fit for settlement purposes as the country is opened up. The whole is covered with forest—pine, rata, tawa, rimu, and the soft woods generally. The soil is papa formation. Bridges will be required in numerous places. Mimi Line. Mimi Valley. —Starting from the Main North Eoad at Mimi, the proposed line follows the valley of Muni for six miles and a half to the Mangahia, over country moderately expensive to form a road through, bridges, culverts, earthwork, and clearing costing £2,601. Mangahia. —Up the branch of Mangahia for four miles and a half, along country easy for road-making, mostly all flat formation. (Tearing, earthwork, and culverts, £998. Mangahia to Makarakia. —A long grade of two miles and three-quarters takes the line to the top of the ridge that acts as a watershed for Waitara, Mangaongaonga, and Mimi; then for three miles along a lumpy ridge to the down-grade of two miles to the Makarakia Stream. The work on this section is very expensive, the country being a most difficult piece to make a road through owing to the number of cross-spurs and ridges that join to form the watershed above mentioned. Have succeeded in running a grade of not more than 1 in 15. There are no bridges required longer than 30ft. span. The earthwork, culverts, bridges, and clearing of this section of seven miles and sixty chains comes to £5,481. Makarakia Valley, of two miles, is almost all fiat formation, the country being easy for road-making. Two short bridges, earthwork, culverts, and clearing bring the cost to £554. The next length is over the dividing ridge between Makarakia and Upper Waitara. The line goes over a saddle 380 ft. above the flats on each side in a distance of 186 chains ; work, in parts, heavy : cost of section, £1,752. Waitara Valley. —For the next three miles and a half the line follows down the Waitara Valley. The first mile and a half is moderately heavy work, the remainder being easy. Three short bridges, with eartlrwork, culverts, clearing, &c, bring the cost up to £1,398. Waitara to Tangarakau. —Four miles takes the line to the junction with the proposed Stratford line, as described in the first part of this report. The work on this portion is moderately heavy : a ridge dividing the waters of the Waitara and Tangarakau lias to be crossed, then a long gully down to Tangarakau. Two small bridges are required, with earthwork, clearing, and culverts ; cost of length, £2,109. Gravelling on this line would be a difficult item to estimate, the same remarks applying as on the other lines. Summation :.—Taking the Mimi line as a through one to Ongaruhe, we have, — Main North Eoad at Mimi to Mangapapa £ s. d. (Tangarakan) ... ... ... 29 miles .. 14,339 0 0 Mangapapa to Maugaroa ... ... 18 miles ... 10,872 15 0 Mangaroa to Ongaruhe ... ... 26i miles ... 7,549 15 0 Mimi to Ongaruhe ... ... 73+ miles ... 32,76110 0 Gravelling, at £400 a mile ... ... ... ... 29,800 0 0 Forming and gravelling 15ft. road ... ... ... 62,561 10 0 Area and Quality of Land. —For twelve miles the road is in the Mimi Valley and its branch, Mangahia. Except the first two miles it is all covered with forest of pine, rata, totara, tawa, and black birch on the hill-tops of the upper portion. The width of the valley generally does not exceed half a mile on the flat ground ;in parts it is much narrower. The soil is a heavy loam on the flats, and hill-sides of papa formation. The hill-sides are available for some distance back on the ridges where the black-birch does not exist. Muti, the main branch of Mimi, would leave an extra area of 5,000 acres of available country ; Mimi Valley, 6,000 acres, of which 3,000 acres would be firstclass, the balance pastoral. From Mangahia to Makarakia the country is much broken, and only fit for pastoral purposes. Makarakia Valley is all good forest land, suitable for settlement purposes ; area, about 2,000 acres. The Waitara Valley has a considerable amount of available country. Cross roads from the Tawhitiraupeka Terrace and Waingara Stream would make a total of 11,000 acres, of which 5,000 acres are agricultural, balance pastoral. From Waitara to Tangarakau the land would be nearly all classed as pastoral, only small portions of it being agricultural. Twentyfive miles of the proposed roadrsliue is through Crown laud, two miles through the Taumatamahoe Block, under negotiation for the Crown; the balance through a settled district, near the Mimi Bridge. In making out the estimate I have worked everything for a roadway of 15ft., with grades not to exceed lin 15; and I feel sure that this would not be exceeded, but in many parts the road would be laid off much flatter. Earthwork prices have been taken out to allow for papa-rock cuttings. H. M. Skeet, District Surveyor.