H.—34.

METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE. The principal duties of the Meteorological Office are the collection and publication of data on the climate and weather of the Dominion and the issue of weather forecasts. The practical value of the former is indicated concisely by the report of a committee set up by the American Society of Civil Engineers to " give thought as to how the United States Weather Bureau could be made of greater service to engineers." This report stresses the importance (a) of maintaining a close network of regularly distributed stations with instruments exposed under standard conditions, near the ground, in open level spaces, (b) of avoiding changes of location or height above ground, which make continuous records of stations unreliable as indices of climatic phenomena and their variation, and (c) of inspection of the stations. It is also stated that meteorological data " are essential in the economical planning, construction, and operation of many types of public and private enterprises and improvements, in which vast sums of money have been, and are being, invested, and such data are widely used by engineers engaged in this work." The securing of long records made under constant conditions is not possible without the cooperation of the public and especially of local bodies, who in the end will be the ones to make the greatest use of them. Regular inspection of stations should be resumed as soon as financial considerations permit. Increasing use is made of the weather forecasts, and it is desirable that no means of improving their accuracy and availability should be neglected. Advances have been made elsewhere through increasing the density of and the area covered by the reporting stations and the frequency and detail of the reports. The accuracy of short-period forecasts, especially, has been considerably enhanced. The dissemination of the reports and forecasts amongst the public requires to be equally free and rapid. For the greater part of these services wireless telegraphy has special advantages, and the extent to which it is employed is ever increasing. Indeed, so many and varied are the demands made by modern meteorological services on wireless that the majority operate their own stations, and it seems clear that this procedure will, before long, have to be adopted in New Zealand. The Director, in his report, refers to the publicity given to forecasts by unqualified persons and the adverse effect this has on the progress of the subject. OBSERVATORIES. The full routine observational work has been maintained at the Dominion Observatory and at Christchurch Magnetic Observatory. In seismology several new recording - stations have been established, and at Amberley a special new set of magnetographs has been installed in connection with the international polar year observations. At Apia Observatory the programme of work in terrestrial magnetism, atmospheric electricity, seismology, and meteorology has been generally maintained as in former years. The continuance of a full programme of work at Apia has only been made possible by generous financial support from the 'Rockefeller Foundation of New York, the Carnegie Institution, and the British Admiralty, and the Department gratefully acknowledges its indebtedness to these bodies. MINERAL CONTENT OF PASTURES. The general adoption of the practice of using the limonite salt lick to control bush sickness has given evidence that this treatment is sound. It is recognized, however, that the reasons why this iron-containing specific is efficaceous arc not yet fully understood, since it has been shown that not all forms of limonite are satisfactory. This has been indicated clearly in the Nelson experiments, where best results in the control of bush sickness were secured by the dosage of sheep with soil extracts'. NOXIOUS WEEDS. The investigations sponsored by the Empire Marketing Board were brought to a close during the year, and the work for the quinquennial period is being summarized in a report prepared for submission to the Board. A certain amount of additional work was done in connection with the development of Antholcus varinervi.i, which, having acclimatized satisfactorily in New Zealand, showed promise of being a controller of piripiri. Work on this insect is being continued at the Cawthron Institute. Towards the close of the period there was also introduced a seed fly which attacks vigorously the sim (I heads of ragwort. In experimental tests it has destroyed a very high percentage of the seeds. Working in association with Tt/ria jacobaeae this insect may provide another useful method for restraining the spread of this serious noxious weed.

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