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At Palmerston North and at Feilding the work of extending the present system is in progress, and plans for a large extension at Masterton have been submitted and reported on. Some attention has been paid to the working of the septic-tank method of disposal of sewage at the public and private tanks in the district, with a view to ascertaining whether a standard of purity for the effluent can be fixed, a matter which has been especially engaging the attention of Dr. Finch, District Health Officer, Christchurch, to whom our results were sent. So far as the installations serving towns are concerned, the results are on the whole satisfactory, although many of these require more constant attention than they receive. One source of trouble which we have met with is the rapid growth of fungoid filaments in the tank effluent, which, washing down, tend to choke the surface of the filter-beds. This probably is unavoidable in warm climates, and suggests that the conduit from tank to filter should be as short as possible. Certainly this trouble is most marked at Eltham, where the conduit is of considerable length. At Palmerston the tank receives an undue proportion of ground-water, considering the comparatively small number of houses yet connected. However, the system has worked well on the whole. The new installation at Carterton is interesting, in that the nightsoil from the unsewered parts of the town is carted to the tank and flushed into it by means of a special sluice arrangement. This makes a very concentrated sewage, yet the result of treatment is satisfactory so far as smell and appearances are concerned. After all, the chief object to attain is a non-putrescent effluent, for the evidence before the Royal Commission on sewage-disposal most clearly shows that so far we cannot hope to obtain an effluent free from all suspicion of carrying the germs of disease, no matter how chemically satisfactory it may be. If this be kept in view, it is evident that the possibilities of sewage-disposal by this system are somewhat more limited than is popularly supposed to be the case. _ As regards the analysis of private-tank effluents, the results are certainly discouraging, ihe sewage is in the first place very concentrated compared to town sewages, and the solid matters are not broken up and emulsified in the same way. Then, the flow is very intermittent and liable tc sudden flushing, quite out of proportion to the capacity of the tank. I am strongly of opinion that it is useless to try to obtain an effluent from these private tanks which will come within the limits of even the least strict standard of purity, if such standard is to be of any value whatsoever. The most satisfactory solution of the difficulty appears to be to distribute the tank-effluent by shallow subsoil pipes, and permit the natural soil to effect the purification. This system was adopted at the Mount View Asylum for the disposal of pig-sty drainage, and so far has given satisfaction, in spite of the somewhat severe nature of the test. Inspection of Food. The following list shows the amount of foodstuffs condemned by the Department during the year: — 64£ cases fruit 2 cans lard 7 bottles fruit 16 tins fruit 8 jars fruit 154 boxes fruit 1 barrow fruit 1 cartload fruit 2 tins meat 2 pieces meai 4£ dozen sausages 2 pieces meat 88 jars paste 12 fowls 134 jars pickles 6 tins paste 13 cases fish 15 jars vegetables 12 sacks fish 26 tins fish 6 packets maizena 20 bottles jam 3 cans milk 301 gallons milk 12 sacks potatoes 12 cases tinned milk 14 siphons ) aara , oA 17 cases onions 74 doz. bottles 2 (killed) calves 66 gals, in casks j As this list indicates, we have made a special effort this year to exercise more supervision over the quality of food-materials offered for sale in the shops and markets, while a reference to the list of prosecutions undertaken by, or at the instance of, the Department shows that on five occasions we prosecuted on account of the sale of uasound food, and in three instances the owners of unclean dairies were dealt with by the Stock Department at our instance. One prosecution was undertaken by the city authorities, on our representation, for the sale of calves, the carcases of which had been "blown." An aerated-water factory, the sanitary condition of which was defective, was closed down, and the contents of the bottles condemned. The material sold in the auction marts has been the special object of our attention, and, when other duties permit, one of our Inspectors attends these sales and reports if any defective food is present It is satisfactory to note that the auctioneers have themselves assisted us in every way possible It must be confessed, however, that we have but touched the corner of the subject. Special legislation and a special staff are required to deal with so important a matter. As an instance of the manner in which we are at present handicapped, we are unable to deal with the receptacles and means of conveyance of milk, meat, «fee, for distribution. A milk-cart may be in a filthy condition, vet we can only.deal with the milk, condemning it as unfit for consumption, if we are able to prove that such is the case—not always an easy matter. So too with butchers carts, in regard to which we have attempted to put a stop to the use of the same vehicle for the distribution of meat to the consumer and the carriage of offal to the boiling-down works. Our powers are, however, too vague for strenuous action; and this applies also to the conveyance of foodstuffs on the railways, as mentioned in a previous report.