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PIG-RECORDING, POEK, AND BACON. The grants made by the New Zealand Meat Producers' Board have enabled pig-recording work to be continued in the Waikato district and extended to a group in the Manawatu area. This work has now been consolidated and brought under the general direction of a Pig Advisory Council, established by the Department of Agriculture. This Council is representative of the pig industry, the Meat Producers' Board, and the Departments of Agriculture and Scientific and Industrial Research. Recording-work and feed trials are being continued in the Waikato and Manawatu districts, and the Department has arranged for its Liaison Officer in London to secure expert opinion on trial lines of pork carcasses which have been shipped from time to time. The Pig Advisory Council has established standards for pork and bacon carcasses along such lines as will enable them to fit in readily with those adopted in our principal market, Great Britain, and arrangements have been made for inspection and grading along those lines to be carried out at various slaughterhouses in New Zealand. As a result of the attention which has been devoted to these various aspects of the pig industry marked progress has been made, and, in consequence, it has been possible to increase to a considerable extent the total exports of pig-meat from the Dominion. The results of the recording work and field trials have indicated to farmers in a time of depression the potential value to them of pigs properly managed as a means of increasing the value of by-products, particularly of the dairy industry. WOOL RESEARCH. Wool research is being carried out at the present time as part of the normal activities of two agricultural Colleges—Massey College and Canterbury Agricultural College. At the former the work is being done at the entire expense of the college, and at the latter use is being made of portion of the research grant made by this Department for the purpose. The nature of the work in progress at Canterbury Agricultural College is set out in the section of this report which deals particularly with all the research activities of that institution. FRUIT COLD STORAGE COMMITTEE. Advisory Committee : Messrs. J. A. Campbell (Chairman), R. Sutherland, W. Benzies, F. W. Grainger, L. W. Tiller, A. M. Robertson, Dr. M. A. F. Barnett, and F. R. Callaghan. Fruit cold-storage research comprises investigations carried out in co-operation with the Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture and the Cambridge Low Temperature Research Station. The land-store trials, in continuation of the work originally handled by Cawthron Institute, are now carried out under the direction of Mr. L. W. Tiller at the Stoke Cold Stores, Nelson. The control lots of fruit connected with the overseas transport trials and certain other land-storage trials are undertaken by Mr. R. Sutherland, of the Horticulture Division, in stores located in Wellington. During the year a comprehensive report on the 1932 season's experiment shipments was received from the Cambridge Low Temperature Research Station, and was given full consideration in the light of the conclusions drawn from the control fruit held in New Zealand. The co-operation with the Cambridge Low Temperature Research Station has proved of the greatest value in assisting the coldstorage investigations undertaken in New Zealand. During the year useful assistance was also received from the Imperial Bureau of Mycology in connection with the identification of fungal troubles causing wastage in New Zealand apples. Arising out of the year's investigations, it has been urged that the carrying-temperature of Cox's and Jonathans should be raised from the present level of 33-35° F. to 36-37° F. in order to avoid wastage from breakdown and scald. It is felt, however, that until it is possible to exercise greater control over the range of temperatures in ships' holds such a course would be inadvisable. The fact that the season was an abnormal one from a climatic point of view precluded arrival at definite conclusions on a number of matters. In districts such as Nelson, where heavy rainfall was experienced in December after a period of drought, all forms of fungal and physiological diseases were more pronounced than was the case with fruit from other parts of the Dominion. The experiments have revealed the important part which naturity plays in connection with wastage, but it is evident that only the collection of data over a period of years will enable adequate light to be thrown on this very difficult problem. Packing experiments demonstrated the efficacy of the all-round wrap in reducing the amount of bruising, but the occurrence of scald in a susceptible variety such as Jonathans would indicate that more work should be done in order to ascertain how these wraps affect air circulation and temperatures within the cases. All investigations demonstrated the considerable losses arising from bruising, and consequently a series of new trials have been arranged with the present season's crop, in order to ascertain- the causes of such bruising and to devise means whereby it may be reduced. During the 1933 season some 350 cases of apples were selected for observation in trials connected with the influence on fruit quality of (1) locality and type of soil, (2) drainage, (3) packing, (4) maturity, (5) wrapping, (6) high and low transport temperatures, (7) precooling. These trials have been carried out with the most important export varieties of New Zealand applies.

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