J--'»"" X •

Napier District. Kumeti Drain. —During the year, work to strengthen and repair the series of thirteen boulder and wire-net weirs has been suoessfully carried out. In addition, a reinforced-ooncrete chute and drop weir combined was constructed just below Thorburn's Bridge at the head of this drain to carry the water over a drop of about 20 ft. in the level of the stream, and thus prevent the stream further cutting back. This work is complete, and is acting satisfactorily. Otawhao Block Water-supply. —A rough survey was made embracing 4,500 acres of the Otawhao Block. Plans and estimates were then prepared for a scheme to supply 142 farms with water. Scrub-cutting. —Labourers from the Waipatiki Special Relief Camp were employed cutting scrub on three farms in the district, the total area cleared being 385 acres. The farmers contributed towards the cost of the work, which was carried out to their satisfaction. Tatjmarunui District. A large quantity of work has been successfully carried out in the Taumarunui district by means of the special single men's relief camps which have been set up. Practically all the work has been done on areas already settled or farmed where the work of logging and stumping had in the past not made much progress at the hands of the settlers, it apparently being rather beyond their financial resources. The work done is proving of immense advantage to the district, and will largely increase the productivity of the areas improved. Particulars of work done are as follow : — Ongarue Land-clearing. —l 22 acres of land stumped and prepared ready for the plough. Oio Land-clearing. —3o7 acres stumped and cleared, and 10 chains of drain dug. Owhango Land-clearing. —294 acres stumped and cleared, 1,576 acres of ragwort cut and poisoned, and 16 chains of fencing erected. Otunui Land-clearing. —210 acres stumped and cleared, 130 acres of scrub cut, 211 chains of fencing erected, and 100 chains of stock-tracks formed. Tapuwae Land-clearing. —ll2 acres stumped and cleared, 576 chains of fence lines cut through bush, 1,000 chains of stock-tracks formed, and 376 chains of tram-lines widened to road width. Tangitu Land-clearing. —Work here has not been in hand very long. One mile of road formation has been completed, and 13 acres of settlers' lands stumped and cleared. Mokau Willow-clearing. —The growth of willows in the Mokau River from the Wairere Falls to the Eight-mile peg on the Te Kuiti - Awakino Road has been a menace for years, causing extensive flooding. A single men's camp has been established here, and, so far, 5 miles of the river has been cleared, the resulting improvement being very marked. Stratford District. Makotuku Logging Camp. —The work carried out during the year consisted of 87 acres of stumping, 51 acres of clearing, 20| acres of scrub-cutting, 30 chains of fencing, and 44| chains of draining. This land will soon be available for the plough, and will help settlers to increase production from their properties. Wellington District. Eastbourne Water and Sewerage Scheme. —This work was originally designed by the Lower Hutt Borough Council. It consists of a water-supply from three artesian wells in the Hutt Valley pumped into a 250,000 gallon reservoir 380 ft. above sea-level erected at Point Howard. This Department has carried out the work of reticulation from the reservoir and at the end of the period had completed the water-supply system, which consisted of 3,947 ft. of 7 in., 9,100 ft. of 6 in., 34,247 ft. of 4 in. steel mains and 9,000 ft. of 2 in. galvanized-iron supplementary main. A f in. service pipe is laid to the boundary of each allotment. The sewerage will be on a separate system. Owing to the flat nature of the Borough of Eastbourne it is necessary to divide the system into three areas with a lifting station in each area. The septic tank will be located at the southern boundary of the borough. There will be 36,820 ft. of sewers of sizes ranging from 6 in. to 12 in. diameter. The excavation for the septic tank has been completed and under-tank sludge-pipes are being laid. No. 1 pumping-station has also been completed and the sinking of cylinder for No. 2 is nearly completed. A contract for the supply of pumps and motors has been let. 3,000 ft. of sewers over 10 ft. in depth, 1,600 ft. of 6 ft. to 10 ft. and 5,000 ft. under 6 ft. in depth have been laid complete with 4 in. branches to section boundaries. The material met has been mostly water-bearing gravel requiring constant pumping, but No. 1 lifting-station and 1,200 ft. of sewer leading to it are in rock. Tangimoana Sand-dune Reclamation.— -This work comprised the planting of marram-grass and the erection of wind-breaks, fences, &c, to deal with the sand nuisance in this district. The work was completed during the year. Hutt Valley Settlement Reading. —This heading includes Gracefield Estate roading, drainage, &c. ; Hall-Jones Settlement tarring and sanding of footpaths ; Awamotu flood-protection and reclamation ; and filling and levelling thirty low-lying sections north of White's Line. All the work was completed during the year. Beach Road and Soldiers Road. —The work done by the men employed in these localities has been in the nature of constructing, widening, and clearing drains, also back-filling old drains. In addition, wells have been bored, and land has been cleared of stumps, scrub, lupin, blackberry, and rushes. Fences and break-winds have been erected, while several farm roads have also been constructed. Coley's Bend, Manawatu River Improvement.—This work consisted of making a cut to divert the Manawatu River at a bad bend. A total of 27,692 cubic yards of soil was shifted during the year, which brought the work to within an easy stage of completion.

39