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improvements required by the Act amounts to £6,200 Bs. 10d., whilst those effected are £24,961 9s. 9d., and show an amount of £1,793 12s. as having been expended on improvements during the year. The Manga-a-toro Stream flowing through the settlement is now well stocked with fish, and during thjs season many visitors from outside the district have obtained some excellent trout-fishing. The settlement is prosperous, and settlers are in good heart. The Ongaha Road, giving an outlet to Dannevirke, has been formed for dray traffic, and the work of metalling is now in hand. Kumeroa Settlement. —This settlement was acquired from Mr. Thomas Crosse under the Land for Settlements Act, and was opened for application on the 12th May, 1902. The area purchased was 3,744 acres 2 roods 38 perches. The number of occupied sections is 15 ; total population, 75. Number of stock, 7,313, comprising 6,s7Bjsheep, 521 cattle, 65 horses, and 209 pigs. The area in grass is 3,598 acti s ; area in white and green crops, 61 acres 3 roods ; the balance bush, swamp, and scrub. The settlement is distant about six miles from Woodville by good metalled dray-road, the roads through the settlement being also metalled. There are fourteen dwellinghouses, of a of £3,010. Thirteen selectors are residing on their holdings, and one (a married woman) resides with her husband on land adjoining her section. The improvements effected are valued at £6,423 125., as against £1,655 6s. Bd. required by the Act. There are two creameries kept busy during the season, and the prici s ruling for butter-fat are 9d. and lOd. per pound. A Drainage Board has been constituted and engineering surveys completed, so that in all probability contracts will be let shortly for swamp.vela mat ion work. Forest Gate Settlement. —This settlement is situated in the western portion of the Hawke's Bay District, distant about fifty miles from Napier by rail and road, and ten miles from Waipawa Township and Railway-station. The area purchased was 8,822 acres and 13 perches. Number of occupied sections 28 ; total population, 103. Number of sheep, 14,840 ; horses, 160 ; cattle, 570 ; and pigs, 30. .Area in grass, 7,600 acres, out of which 1,456 acres have been ploughed and again laid down in permanent pasture ; area in white and green crops, 700 acres ; balance, light bush and scrub. This settlement was opened for selection on the 19th May, 1902. The value of improvements effected is estimated at £12,488 16s. 7d., as against £2,489 15s. required by law. There are twenty-five dwellinghouses, valued at £4,150, and nineteen settlers are resident on their holdings. The settlement is in a prosperous condition, notwithstanding the recent drought experienced this season in Hawke's Bay and elsewhere. Argyll Settlement. —This settlement, which was opened for selection on the 26th June, 1903, is situated in the Waipawa County, and is distant six miles from Waipawa Township, three miles from Kaikora North, and nine miles and a half from Pukehou Railway-station. The area purchased was 33,705 acres I rood 30 perches. The number of occupied sections is 62 ; total population, 255. Number of sheep, 51,724; horses, 458; cattle, 2,596; pigs, 150. Area in grass, 4,000 acres, out of which 1,000 acres have been ploughed, cropped, and again sown down in permanent pasture ; area in white and green crops, 3,198 acres ; balance scrub. There are sixty dwellinghouses in the settlement, valued at £11,915. The improvements required by law amount to £9,272, and the improvements effected are valued at £42,385, including £4,071 2s. estimated value of original improvements. Improvements to the value of £6,500 have been effected during the year, and the carrying-capacity of the settlement is increased by 7,664 sheep, 157 horses, and 60 cattle. Wigan Settlement (Poverty Bay District). —This estate is situated about eight miles from the Town of Buckley (Tologa Bay) and about forty-three miles from Gisborne, and contains 10,072 acres 1 rood 37 perches, and is divided into seventeen allotments. It was offered for selection in December, 1903. This settlement is purely pastoral country. Fourteen of the selectors are residing on the estate ; of the remainder, two are spinsters and reside with their parents in the locality, the third is residing at present with her husband in Taranaki. There are forty-nine persons living on the estate. The selectors have effected improvements to the value of £8,605 which with the original improvements makes a total value of £13,282 Is. lid., as against £3,418 19s. lOd. required by the Act. This is a most successful settlement, and all the settlers have had a very successful year. Lindsay Settlement. —This settlement, situated in the Waipawa County, was formerly known as the Mount Vernon Estate, and was acquired by the Government under the Land for Settlements Act. It is distant about forty miles from Napier, and adjoins the Townships of Waipawa, Waipukurau, and Ongaonga, and was opened for settlement on the 11th April, 1905. The area purchased was 13,574 acres. The number of occupied sections is 65 ; total population, 223. Number of sheep, 22,755 ; horses, 205 ; cattle, 1,025 ; pigs, 130. Area in grass, 4,000 acres ; area in white and green crops, 1,540 acres ; balance scrub. There are sixty-one dwellinghouses in the settlement. The improvements required by law should be worth £2,254, whilst those effected are valued at £18,828, which shows a substantial increase on last year's figures. This settlement is in a thriving condition. Mangatahi Settlement. —This settlement, originally part of the Olrig Estate, was acquired by the Government under the Land for Settlements Act, and opened for selection on the sth February, 1907. It is situated fifteen miles from Hastings and twenty-four miles from Napier, having good level formed roads from both places. It adjoins the well-known Maraekakaho Estate. The area purchased was 12,391 acres 1 rood 37 perches. The sections, ranging in area from 194 acres to 879 acres, are all occupied. Total population is 82. Total number of stock, 18,419, comprising 17,785 sheep, 537 horses, and 20 pigs. Area in grass, 11,000 acres ; area in white and green crops, 778 acres 3 roods ; balance light scrub. There are twenty dwellinghouses in the settlement, thirteen of which have been erected by the settlers themselves, and are valued at £2,266. Seven are original buildings, which are being paid for by instalments. Twenty selectors are now residing on their holdings. The value of improvements effected is put down at £8,408 18s. ; this is inclusive of original improvements valued at £2,688 10s.; the difference—viz., £5,720 Bs.—represents the value of improvements effected by the