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technical developments demanded urgent measures to provide both professional and ranger staff to fill the many vacancies caused by lack of pre-war recruitment and accentuated by the unavoidable diversion of technical officers to administration positions. The recruitment and training of junior apprentice staff, however actively pursued, cannot serve immediate requirements, thus steps have had to be taken on the one hand to recruit trained forest officers and on the other hand to accelerate the training of officers with some Service experience to qualify them for higher responsibilities. During the past year nine overseas-trained professional officers have joined the staff; whilst, in addition, to much on-the-job training the Service has continued to provide at Rotorua a wide range of short instructional courses to all grades of officers, both clerical and field, the beneficial results of which from a long-term viewpoint far outweigh the administrative inconveniences and consequential interruptions of current activities the immediate effects of which are prone to draw criticisms on a short-term interpretation. The number of young New Zealanders seeking a forestry career has shown no sign of decreasing, and it is anticipated that as evidence of career prospects accumulates a higher proportion of matriculated applicants will seek appointment, since it is from the latter source that the annual quota of professional students must be drawn. First-hand overseas evidence accumulated during the past year has strengthened the conviction of the Forest Service that higher forestry education in New Zealand should be based on a graduate science prerequisite, both in recognition of a world trend towards a higher standard of forestry training and of the exceptionally complex problems presented by the indigenous forests. The training of junior staff to forest-ranger standard is already achieving significant results, particularly amongst those ex-servicemen whose maturity has assisted their development; and the influence of a central educational institution at Rotorua providing close technical contact between professional and sub-professional grades in both the Clerical and General Divisions cannot be over-emphasized in achieving that long-term and worth-while objective—a well-balanced, adequate, and highly trained staff establishment. 20. Recruitment. —In addition to normal annual quota of technical trainees and clerical cadets, the past year has seen the recruitment of an appreciable number of professional officers. The field trainee vacancies were keenly sought and 21 appointments were made ; in the same period 17 clerical cadets, including 5 female, joined the Service. In November, 1946, vacancies in the Professional Division were advertised throughout the British Commonwealth, with the result that 9 forestry graduates from the forest services of Great Britain, Australia, India, and Burma were appointed during the year. This overseas recruitment has helped to counteract the effect of the prolonged absence of higher forestry education in New Zealand. The general failure to recruit clerical cadets during the depression period and immediately thereafter is now having serious repercussions. The current shortage of fully trained clerical officers can only be remedied by recruitment from outside the Public Service, and progress is dependent upon special training facilities being made available, followed by accelerated promotion for the outstanding officers. 21. Training. —Of the 33 (34) technical trainees studying for science degrees, 10 are ex-servicemen on full-time rehabilitation bursaries. In addition to these trainee undergraduates, the Forest Service is interested in the progress of 5 (5) New Zealand ex-servicemen bursars who are taking forestry degrees in Britain and of 12 (14) rehabilitation bursars studying for science degrees in New Zealand with forestry careers in view. Four of the United Kingdom group and 4 of the New Zealand group are expected to graduate in 1948 and seek appointments in this Service. All of the New

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