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APPENDIX B. Report of the Scenery Preservation Board. The Board during the past year comprised the following members : Messrs. W. T. Neill (SurveyorGeneral), Chairman ;B. M. Wilson (General Manager, Tourist and Health Resorts); Chief Judge R, M. Jones (Under-Secretary, Native Department) ; and the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the district in which the lands to be dealt with are situated. Meetings were held in the office of the Surveyor-General, Wellington, on the 4th May, 1923, when matters in North Auckland Land District were dealt with ; on the Bth November, 1923, Wellington Land District; and on the 7th June, J 923, Nelson Land District. Twenty-two recommendations were submitted by the Board to His Excellency the GovernorGeneral regarding the acquisition and reservation of lands throughout the Dominion under the Scenery Preservation Act. When considering proposals for the reservation of land under the Scenery Preservation Act the greatest care is taken to see that the farming capabilities of the country are not unduly prejudiced, and that the lands recommended for reservation will be of national benefit if reserved. W. T. Neill, Chairman. Extract from Retort of the Local Summit Road Scenic Reserves Board. All the reserves are in good order and condition —that is, there is very little in the way of noxious weeds to be seen anywhere upon them. Several are still unfenced, but this is not a matter of urgency, in view of the fact that the liabilities taken over by the Board, chiefly connected with the building and furnishing of the " Sign of the Kiwi," Kennedy's Bush, and with the caretaker's house on the Kaituna Reserve, are considered as having a first claim upon the income of the Board. The " Sign of the Kiwi " still continues to be the main source of income, under Mrs. Ell's continued careful management, and there is every assurance of this income being maintained. The most important happening during the past year has been the discharge of the debt upon Sugarloaf Hill, the option of which was first secured in 1916 through the foresight and enterprise of Mr. Ell from Mr. J. Cracroft Wilson. Mr. Wilson was very patient and behaved throughout with great public spirit, and agreed to make a reduction on purchase-money and interest due. The reduction on the purchase-money amounted to £608 10s., and he sacrificed interest to the extent of £437 12s. 2d., making altogether a handsome donation of £1,046 2s. 2d. The cash required to complete the purchase—namely, £I,ooo—was found by two Christchurch citizens, Mr. W. G. Jamieson and Mr. J. J. Thomson, who voluntarily came forward in a public-spirited and generous manner and gave £500 each. To Mr. J. Cracroft-Wilson, Mr. W. G. Jamieson, and Mr. ,1. J. Thomson the thanks of the public of Canterbury are due, and their generous act should be kept green in the memory of the people of Canterbury and Christchurch. Mr. Ell presents a most gratifying statement with regard to Kennedy's Bush. He says that fully 15 acres in one patch, which a few years ago was bare, is now covered with luxuriant young bush, and the bush is spreading in other directions. He counted, in one small area of about 40 ft. square, well over a hundred young manuka —not the scrub-manuka, but the tree-manuka, which grows into a sturdy forest-tree. The Board, undertook to erect a rabbit-proof fence on the boundaries of the Sugarloaf Reserve and Mr. Wilson's property. Part of this has been erected under arrangement by the Public.Works Department, and it is hoped to arrange to do the rest economically. It has been suggested that the Board should fill up vacant places on their reserves by planting exotic trees. This matter can be discussed by the Board. The accounts show that the revenue has been maintained on an equality with that of last year. The caretaker of Kennedy's Bush decided, to give up, and in the meantime I arranged with Mr. Ell to carry on under an arrangement which will give the Board a small revenue. G. H. Bullard, Chairman, Summit Road Scenic Reserves Board.

APPENDIX C. Kapiti Island. Towards the close of the year the Advisory Committee paid a visit of inspection to Kapiti, and, was pleased to find that there had been considerable improvement since the previous visit. The destruction of goats and the removal of sheep is having a marked effect on the young forest growth, and countless seedling plants arc to be seen along the old tracks. Forty-nine goats were killed during the year, and it is known that about forty still survive. They have become very alert, and at the slightest sign of danger take refuge on the inaccessible cliffs along the western side of the island. Most of the privately owned sheep have been removed from the Crown portion of the island. Very few of any kind are now to be seen in the northern half, but in the south a large number of wild ones of little or no value continue to graze on the open country and among the scattered clumps