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Library. —The botanical and zoological sections of the library have been substantially increased by the addition of a selection of the works purchased from the library of the late Mr. T. F. Cheeseman. In addition the usual exchanges for Museum publications have come to hand. Publications. —The following works have been published during the year : Monograph No. 7, " A Bibliography of Printed Maori to 1900," by Herbert W. Williams ; Bulletin No. 10. " Maori Religion and Mythology, Part I," by Mr. E. Best. A considerable part of the time of Mr. Oliver, Museum Assistant, has been devoted to the editing and proof-reading of the late Mr. Cheesemen's Flora. Practically the whole of the work is now in type, and the compiling of the index is being kept apace with the printing of the sheets. Owing to the funds for printing provided by the Board of Maori Ethnological Research, publication of several museum bulletins written by Mr. Best has now become possible. Registrar-General. Registration of Europeans.—Births, 29,353 ; deaths, 10,835 ; marriages solemnized, 10,317, of which 2,036 were solemnized by Registrars. Registration of Maoris. —Births, 1,206 ; deaths, 763 ; marriages,^l94. Dentist's Register.—Number on register, 802. There were 47 additions to and 10 removals from the register during the year. gg Officiating Ministers. —On the 31st JJiere were 1,840 ministers on the list of officiating ministers under the Marriage Act having authority to solemnize marriages in New Zealand, as follows : Church of the Province of New Zealand, commonly called the Church of England, 463 ; Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, 394 ; Roman Catholic Church, 296 ; Methodist Church of NewZealand, 261; Salvation Army, 164; Congregational Independents, 31; Baptists, 65; Church of Christ, 32 ; other denominations, 134. Revenue. —The revenue received was in excess of the expenditure. Dominion Analyst and Chief Inspector of Explosives. The number of samples submitted by various Departments for examination in Wellington was as follows : Customs, 259 ; Defence, 19 ; Explosives Branch, 19; Police, 25; Mines, Head Office, 89 ; Mines, Geological Survey, 98 ; Mines, Engineers and Inspectors, 68 ; Prospectors, 381 ; Post and Telegraph, 223 ; Public Health, Auckland", 97 ; Public Health, Christchurch, 172 ; Public Health, Dunedin, 40 ; Public Health, Wellington (including Napier and Wanganui districts), 2,545 ; Plunket Nurse, 219; Public Works, 85 ; Railways, 9; State Forest, 14; Stores Control, 10 ; other Departments, 40 ; public bodies, 56 ; research and miscellaneous, 80 : total, 4,548. Police. —The Superintendent of Police submitted several exhibits relating to cases of suspected poisoning, in two of which strychnine was found, and in another case caustic soda. Other samples had reference to an attempt to defraud a dairy company by improper sampling of cream, and to the sale of cider containing 14 per cent, of proof spirit as a non-alcoholic beverage. Mines. —The work undertaken for the Mines Department comprised the analyses of type rocks and minerals for the Geological Survey Branch, which are published in the Geological Reports on the various localities concerned ; of samples from reputed mineral finds, for the Head Office ; of coal and rock dusts, and mine-air, for the Inspectors ; and of specimens submitted by prospectors and others. It may not be generally known that any person finding a mineral specimen may have it examined free of charge, provided that the exact locality is given, thus enabling a correct mineral record to be kept. Health.- —A great variety of foodstuffs was forwarded by Inspectors under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act. The list comprises—Aerated water, arrowroot, bacon, beer, blanc-mange powder, bread, butter, castor-oil, chocolates, citric and tartaric acids, cocoa, coffee and chicory, cordial (artificial), cream, cream-mould, cream of tartar, curry-powder ; drainage, &c., Rotorua ; dyes for foodstuffs; egg-pulp, Epsom salt tablets, ether, flour, flour-improver, fruit (lemons, &c.), Fruitella table dainty, fruit-essence, fruit laxatives, gellatine, gin pills, goitre cure, hop and ginger beer, ice-cream and ices, icing-sugar, incrustation on milk-bottle, infants' and invalids' food, jam, jelly-crystals, lard, lemon and lime squash, lemonade crystals, lime-juice, local anaesthetic, Lucca oil, malt-extract, maraschino cherries, medicines, milk, Morning Salt, oatmeal, pepper, pineapple-squash, preserved fruits, quinine (tincture of), rag flock, raspberry-crush, raspberry-crystals, rice, rum, salt, sago, sausages, silds in oil, soda-water, sugar, sweets, syrup of figs, tanning preparations, tea, tooth-powder, vanilla-essence, vinegar, water, white-lead, Yadil, zinc-oxide. The examination of beer for the presence of arsenic, mentioned in the previous year's report, was continued, but only one sample contained traces of the metal, and the amount was considerably less than the limit imposed by the regulations. Butter was again frequently examined, and in three samples only was there a large excess of water. In three others the amount found was slightly over the standard of 16 per cent. Flour was obtained from the principal mills in the Dominion and tested for artificial bleaching agents, but in no case were any detected. Some attention was also given to so-called " flourimprovers." Examination of samples of hoj>-beer and ginger-beer from all parts of New Zealand showed that it was a common practice, amounting almost to a trade custom, to add saccharin to such drinks. The practice has received a salutary check. A considerable amount of work was done on genuine and artificial extracts of vanilla. The analytical differences were quite marked, and manufacturers of the genuine extract need not fear unfair competition from artificial preparations.