G — 100.

OPAPE BASE FARM. Contracts. —Contracts are scheduled providing for an expenditure of £586 55., and subject to subsidies totalling £188 15s. The work scheduled was expected to provide employment for 29 men. At the 31st March last payments for work done amounted to £146 155., and subsidies paid or payable on contracts completed totalled £37 15s. The number of men employed, 10—individuals 10. For the sake of convenience a contract for post and batten, splitting has been included in the schedule of Base Farm contracts, although it does not form a part of the Base Farm work. It is a general contractto provide posts and battens for the whole of the Whakatohea Scheme, and accounts for £378 of the original contract cost and £13 10s. of the expenditure to 31st March, 1933. Contracts outstanding at the close of the financial year were—(l) For 100 acres scrub-cutting on the Base Farm at £75, with subsidy of £25 ; and (2) the balance of the Whakatohea General Contract, 5,700 posts and 24,000 battens, at £364 10s., and subsidy of £126. Work. —Work under unemployment contracts and employing men other than permanent farm hands comprised scrub-cutting, fencing, and draining. An area of 40 acres was scrubbed at a cost of £37. This was burnt, sown, and manured by the farm staff in the course of their routine of work. Fencing accounted for £20 of the expenditure, and 80 chains to enclose the 40 acres scrubbed was erected. Two men had to be imported from Ruatoki to do this work. The farm staff was responsible for 34 chains of subdivisional fencing, making the total fencing 114 chains. The amount expended on the draining operations was £76 55., and 75 chains were completed by two men. Pastures. —Mr. Stewart, farm-manager during the first year of operations, estimated the area n grass as 87 acres, and with the addition of 40 acres scrubbed area sown —127 acres in all. A recent survey made by the Scheme surveyor shows the area in pasture as 198 acres, including 5 acres of lucerne. Top-dressing. —Spring, 1931 : With ammoniated super at 3 cwt. application, 26 acres including lucerne patch, with super at 3 cwt. application, 54 acres. Spring, 1932 : With lime-super mixture at 5 cwt. application, 87 acres. Provision is made in the 1933-34 budget for manure to top-dress 170 acres of pasture. Buildings.—When the property was taken over from Mrs. Ferguson, the buildings consisted of a four-roomed cottage, washhouse, car-shed, old whare, and a four-stand milking-shed. The milkingshed, yards, and surroundings were condemned by the Dairy Inspector as being the cause of mammitis affecting Mrs. Ferguson's herd. A new five-stand shed was therefore erected and equipped with a Treloar " Apex " milking-machine. Buildings.—An addition to the old whare was built to accommodate the farm hands, and the cottage was renovated. The old cow-shed is now used as a manure and implement shed. Hay and Ensilage —The hay and ensilage harvested during this season measured at 20 tons ensilage and 101J tons of hay. Credit is due to the farm-manager and his staff for the manner in which they have conserved the feed for the use of the stock in the winter. Management. —During the first year of operations the farm was managed by Mr. Stewart (European) who had been Mrs. Ferguson's manager for some years. He was assisted by three cadets selected by the owners from among the young men of the tribe. Mr. Stewart resigned at the end of the milking season July, 1932, to take up a position as a share milker for a European farmer. Mr. Ngawai Amoamo, an owner in the land and son of the leading man of the tribe, who was foreman of the Whakatohea Scheme, was appointed manager. The change in the management was reflected in the better state of the pastures, the fencing, conservation of feed, and general initiative in the work and management of the farm. He was assisted by the farm cadets aforementioned. WAINTJI SECTION. Contracts. —Contracts for work estimated to cost £174 10s., and providing work for 9 men, were authorized, and subsidies totalling £58 3s. 4d. were allotted. Work. —The work done under the contracts above as at 31st March, 1933, comprises the ploughing and sowing of 5 acres, the erection of 66-9 chains of fencing, and the splitting and delivery of 504 posts and 20 strainers. The total cost of the above work was £64 15s. 9d., and gave employment to fifteen men —individuals 12. No contracts were completed at the close of the financial year, but it is expected that all work would be completed by the end of April. In all other respects the position of Wainui is as set out in my report dated the 20th October, 1932, and summarized in the summary hereto. WHAKATOHEA UNITS. Work.—This comprised scrub-cutting, ploughing, sowing and manuring, fencing, top-dressing, and the building of a store-shed and two race cow-sheds. The total area scrubbed, surface-sown, and manured was 303 acres ; ploughed, sown, and manured, 21 acres : making a total area of 324 acres pastured by the Scheme. These areas are only approximate, as no actual survey of each unit's work has been made. Fencing is estimated at 560 chains upon the amount of wire issued and calculated as for fences of seven wires. Top-dressing. —The areas top-dressed with manures supplied by the Scheme are as follow : — Acres. 1931-32. With super .. . • ■ • • • 188 With basic super .. .. . • 20 With potassic super .. .. 45 253 1932-33. With a mixture of lime and super (5 cwt. to 2 cwt.) applied at the rate of 5 cwt. to the acre .. 317

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