o.—B

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Ngarua Canal. This canal leaves the Piako River about midway between the Waikaka Canal and the Puhanga spillway. At this particular point the Ngarua Creek joined the river, and meandered towards the hills for a distance id' ovev two miles, where a large lake was situated, A new channel has been cut, using the old course where possible, but several large deviations were made. The work was commenced in May, ami since then this cut has been completed for a distance of 125 chains, the amount of spoil excavated being 79,707 cubic yards. Owing to the cut being subject to the tide a. dam was constructed behind the dredge so that the water-level would be stationary. The first part of the cut, a distance of 55 chains, was through very hard country, with occasional patches of timber, but after that tin.: country was much softer, This cut should be completed in June, 1915. As the dredger returns down the cut several low places in the spoil-bank will be raised, as tin's spoil-bank will form a through road so as to give connection between Ngarua and the Piako River, thence to the Orchard and Kerepeehi. This worl; has l_een carried out by means oi' a special grant voted last year, and to date the expenditure has been ,£449 Bs. 6d. Awaiti Canal. This canal leaves the Piako River about 10 chains north of the Ngarua ('anal, and runs due east towards the\Awaiti Stream. The idea of this canal is to assist in the reclamation of 2,200 acres of first-class country that lies to the north of the canal, between the Piako Hirer and the Awaiti Stream. This area is of excellent quality, and the deepest, peat is only 3 ft. So far the canal has not been excavated to its final depth, owing to the soft, nature of the country, butjater on another few feet will be excavated. The spoil excavated has been deposited on the north side, so as to form a combined stop-bank and road. As this cut was a.lso tidal, a dam was constructed near the Piako 'River (\)\t\. Since this canal was commenced —about the middle of .1n1y—62,465 cubic yards have been excavated, the distance covered being 94 chains. The total distance to the Awaiti Stream is 185 chains, so that this point should be reached about the end of November. Stop-banks. A distance of 100 chains of stop-bank along the \\ ait aka ru ru Stream was constructed during the year, making the total length of stop-bank within the Hauraki Plains area 28 miles 7() chains. The only case of damage to the stop-bank occurred along the Waitakaruru Stream, where if was broken in the flood of March, 1915. It had, however, not been completed to its full height and width, and this is one of the works that will be placed in hand at once. On the Piako River the banks have not been subjected to a test during the year, as no Hoods have been experienced. All stop-banks have been straightened when found necessary, but in most cases they are now quite solid. Formed Roads. The total length of formed cart-roads —in nearly every instance with a. drain on each side —is 58 miles 14 chains, the distance of new formation for the year being I miles 16 chains. Within the Waitoa Block about 1,000 cubic yards of sand were used in raising portions of the roads and forming about 12 chains oi' the Paeroa-Tahuna Road. These roads are now all in first-class condition, and in commo-> with roads through peat country will require attention every year for some time to come. In 1913 a special vote of £1,595 was passed to assist in the formation of the Waikaka Tramway Road, the expenditure to date being £1,652 95., of which .£1,250 9s. was spent during the past year. Owing to the soft nature 'if the. peat, fascines were laid for over two miles, 12,.543 fascines being supplied for the purpose. The tram-line has been shifted to the centre of the road reserve, and has now been ballasted rigid up to the wharf. During this year this road will be widened so that, it can be used by vehicles. The Patetonga Road has now been completed throughout, and is now used quite as much as the main road. In February Hie drays were shifted to the Ngarua Road, where they are carting spoil, and this road wdll eventually be continued to the Piako River. As usual the roads have been maintained in very fair order. Road-ba.;k,s. The total length of road-banks — i.e., spoil from toad drains removed about 4 ft. from edge thereof and spread—is 14 miles 50 chains. Of this distance, three miles are suitable for all traffic, the balance being through peat country, some of which, however, it is not intended to convert into formed roads, as they are not required for settlement purposes. At Waikaka the length of road-banks is being reduced considerably, and by next year there should be very few peat roads in that locality. The road-banks that provide the largest difficulties to convert are those along the Pouarua Road and the immediate vicinity. Owing to the lack of spoil that can be obtained from the drains the spoil for formation purposes will have to be conveyed from a considerable distance. DIIAINS IN OPERATION. The total length of drains now in operation is 320J miles, which total includes all classes of drains constructed by the Department—viz., road, outlet, subdivisional, stop-bank, and service drains. This is an increase of IS| miles foi the year,