AN INDISPENSABLE ANNUAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 83, 10 April 1922, Page 4

AN INDISPENSABLE ANNUAL.

An old and indispensable friend, '"The New' Zealand Year Book," has arrived in its 1922 form. We are to be able to report that it conies in a much fuller shape than last year's issue, which owing to the paper shortage and the lateness of information, was reduced from about a thousand to about 400 pages. This drastic curtailment made the issue almost ridiculous; the official hand-book of the Government did not even contain a list of Ministers. This year the historical and political sections have been restored, and the book is two hundred pages larger than its immediate predecessor. The book is a very valuable record. The Government Statistician informs us that it has been largely rearranged, several of the sections having been entirely re-written and most of the others recast. There are some new features, including a long atid interesting chapter on forestry. The useful summary of legislation in the session of the previous year has been restored. The statistics, which from the brief examination we have been able to give to the book, seem to be very full and to contain valuable new matter and fresh treatment, go up to March, 19*21, but an appendix is added containing the census results of last year and migration, trade, shipping and other figures for the calendar year 1021. This appendix is a good idea, but we wonder whether it would not be possible to publish the book at less than twelve months' distance from the end of the financial year with which it is chiefly concerned. The volume is inscribed

"1021-1022," whereas all previous 1 volumes have borne the figures of the, year of compilation, though in recent! years publication has not occurred until the following year. For the future the) book is to bear the year of publication, which seems the more satisfactory method, arid the designation "1921-22" has been adopted now to preserve continuity. The size of the page has been changed from demy-octavo toi royal octavo, for reasons of economy and display of tabular matter. These reasons may be adequate, but we like uniformity in these matters. The result will be a shelf full of Year Books of two sizes— a small matter no doubt, but one that irritates the bookman.