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plications which supervened. The loss of this young and promising attendant was much felt by the whole staff and by the patients, among whom he was deservedly popular. I regret to have to record two deaths from suicide. One was the case of a man whose mind was permanently enfeebled, but was industrious and well-behaved. The other case was that of a man who had been admitted suffering from melancholia, the immediate result of alcoholism, but who was apparently convalescent. In neither case had any change of mental state been noticed, and no suspicion of a suicidal tendency was entertained. A still more distressing tragedy was the death of one patient by the hands of another, who made a homicidal attack on the victim during the night. Probably the "attack was prompted by some fleeting delusion, but this was difficult to determine, as all the patients associated in the dormitory were too demented, to give any account of what had transpired. The unfortunate man who was killed was an epileptic and hopelessly demented. During the year under review something was done to improve the water-supply, and a large auxiliary reservoir was formed on the south branch of the stream to supplement the main reservoir on the north branch, which for some time has proved inadequate for our requirements. When the new auxiliary reservoir is properly connected up with the water-main I am hopeful that we shall have plenty of water in reserve to meet all demands even in a dry season. The water-catchment area consists of about 80 acres of native bush, which is securely fenced in, and 200 or 300 acres of rough hill country over which the stock (sheep and cattle) have been grazing. In the interests of good water-supply the sheep have been disposed of, and the cattle kept off this ground as much as possible, while part of it, about 30 acres' abutting on the lower part of the stream above the main reservoir, has been securely fenced in and partly planted with young forest-trees. The result has been excellent : the entire exclusion of stock from this area has been followed by a rich growth of grass and other vegetation, which forms a good filtration medium, and prevents the rapid evaporation of water from the surface of the ground in summer-time when water is most needed. lam satisfied that it would be wise to similarly isolate the whole of the grazing-ground included in the water-catchment. Even with the carrying-out of this improvement, I am of opinion that the water, especially in flood-time, will still require filtration. In this connection I may say that from time to time cases of hydatids have occurred among patients of long residence in the Hospital, and I have no doubt that the ova of this disease have reached the institution through the water-supply. To eliminate this and other risks I strongly recommend that some form of filtration, such as the high-pressure filters manufactured by Messrs. Mather and Piatt, and used with success at Feilding and elsewhere, should be installed here. On account of the continual increase in the number of patients, some embarassment has been felt from the deficiency of accommodation, especially on the male side of the Hospital. I was therefore gratified when it was decided to build an extensive addition to the male auxiliary. In this new ward, besides two new day-rooms, there will be forty single bedrooms, which are very much required for patients who by reason of their mental state or faulty conduct are unfit to be associated with others in dormitories. As a further addition, semi-detached quarters for twenty attendants are being built. Good progress is being made with the work, and I am hopeful that the whole will be completed and ready for occupation some time in the coming spring. A commodious carpenters' workshop to replace one which was altogether too small has been constructed by our own staff assisted by patients. The production from the farm, garden, &c, for the year 1911 has been satisfactory. The value of milk, cream, and butter consumed on the premises has been about £1,100, of eggs and poultry £500, of vegetable £500, and fruit £100. Besides this, the cash sales of pigs have amounted to £449, of cattle £191, and of eggs and poultry £217. The whole return from the estate comes to upwards of £3,000 in value. As against this on the debit side about £2,000 is shown, but this sum includes the salary of the Farm-manager and the wages of two others doing farm-work. It also includes one item of £628 for feed, largely used by the farm horses, which are mostly engaged in carting on the road. 2,520 tons of coal and other goods have been carted by us from the railway-station to the institution. There is no doubt that the area of suitable farm land which we have is insufficient, The greater part of the estate (which consists of about 900 acres) is exceptionally rough, precipitous country, and is of no great value for farming purposes. After deducting the space occupied by buildings, grounds, gardens, and plantations, as well as the intersecting gullies throughout the home-paddocks, we have not more than 125 acres of agricultural land, and even this is not of the best quality. I was therefore very pleased when we acquired the leasehold (for a term of years) of 80 acres of Native land adjoining our northern boundary. Quite 75 per cent, of this leasehold is cropping-land, and will make a valuable addition to the farm. I strongly recommend that the farm-area should still further be increased if opportunity offers. The quality of our Ayrshire herd has greatly improved of late, years, and the Farm-manager, Mr. Carter, is entitled to credit for the care and judgment he has displayed in this important matter. The reputation of our cattle now stands high among dairy-farmers in the North Island, and the demand for our young stock at very remunerative prices is greater than we can supply. Last season the North Island Association of Ayrshire Breeders held their annual competition at the Carterton Agricultural Show, and there we were successful in carrying off a gold medal and championship with one of our Ayrshire bulls, as well as securing five first and several other prizes in the various classes exhibited. We were still more successful in the Palmerston North Metropolitan Show. The only important change in the Hospital staff took place in October, when Dr. Jeffreys, was promoted to the Seacliff Mental Hospital as Senior Assistant Medical Officer, after several years good service here. Dr. McKillop and Dr. Gray were then appointed Senior and Junior Medical Officers respectively. Both of them have had training and experience in mental hospitals of high reputation in Scotland. I was very pleased when the Hon. the Minister in charge decided on the appointment of a Second Assistant at this institution. The large number of patients under care and treatment made the increase of the medical staff a question of urgency-