H— 34,

SOIL AND LAND-UTILIZATION SURVEYS. During the year substantial progress has been made with the two regional soil surveys, each covering several thousand square miles, in North Auckland and Hawke's Bay. In North Auckland approximately 250 square miles of detailed soil mapping were completed. In Hawke's Bay 950 square miles have been mapped, and there remain some 500 square miles in southern Hawke's Bay and a small area in northern Hawke's Bay to complete the soil-mapping for the whole province. The writing-up of description of the soil-types in the mid-Hawke's Bay district is well forward, and the four coloured soil maps for this area are in the hands of the printer. A bulletin dealing with the soils of this area, followed by two complementary bulletins describing the pastures and land-utilization, respectively, will be published during the coming year. In March, Bulletin 70, which gives a comprehensive account of the climate, soils, agriculture, and horticulture of the Heretaunga Plains, was published, and has been in good demand from landholders in the district. A soil survey of the Waikato lowlands between Hamilton and Morrinsville, and of the Kereone district, was commenced in order to supply data for the facial-eczema investigations. The writing-up of the soils and agriculture of the adjacent Waipa County was completed, and is now in the course of publication as a departmental bulletin. A survey of the soils of the north bank of the Manawatu River, near Foxton, has been made in order to provide information on their suitability for growing Phormium tenax. SOIL EROSION. A special Committee was set up during the year to report on the maintenance and preservation of vegetation, with special reference to the problem of soil erosion. The Committee's report, which has been finalized, and is now in the course of publication, provides a valuable survey of the extent to which deterioration of vegetation and soils has been occurring throughout New Zealand. Preventive measures are advocated so that acceleration of erosion, and consequent land deterioration which will otherwise occur, may be halted before irreparable damage is done to our farming lands. In addition to the above report, a special survey of the tussock-grasslands of the South Island was made by an officer of the Botany Division of the Plant Research Bureau. The results, which have be:n published, show that serious deterioration in these tussock areas is occurring, and point to the necessity for regenerative measures. MINERAL CONTENT OF PASTURES. Remarkably successful results continue to be obtained from the use of cobalt in the treatment of animal diseases of the bush-sickness type. Under the direction of the Cobalt Committee, which includes representatives of the Department of Agriculture and the Cawthron Institute, a comprehensive programme of research has been undertaken during the past year. Special grants from the New Zealand Wool Publicity Committee and the New Zealand Meat-producers Board were utilized for the purpose of surveys of the cobalt content of pastures in the North and South Islands by the Department of Agriculture and the Cawthron Institute respectively. In the South Island the districts covered by the survey comprise Ashburton County ; certain districts in Southland ; the Sherry, Westhaven, and Takaka districts, of Nelson ; and parts of the West Coast (Karamea, Westport, Greymouth, and the Grey-Reefton Valley). A low cobalt content was found in all samples from established pastures on the pakihi lands at Westport, and also in pastures from dune and recent-blown sands near the coast at Karamea, from limestone country at Cape Foulwind, and from leached gravel terraces of the Grey-Reefton Valley and at Karamea. The success which has attended the use of cobalt licks and cobaltized fertilizers on pakihi pastures at Westport suggests that cobalt supplements will prove beneficial to stock over a large area of pasture land at Karamea, Westport, and in the Grey-Reefton Valley. Further trials with cobaltized fertilizers have confirmed their efficacy in maintaining stock in a healthy condition on pastures which were originally unhealthy for stock. Some interesting experiments with field crops at Southland and Nelson have shown that their cobalt status is greatly improved by the use of cobaltized fertilizers. Uniformly good results have been obtained in animal trials at Nelson and on the West Coast from the use of cobalt licks, and these results are parallelled by those obtained by the Department of Agriculture in their experiments in the North Island. WHEAT RESEARCH INSTITUTE. In December, 1938, the Wheat Research Institute completed its first ten years of service to the wheat industry. The legislation under which the Wheat Research Institute operates and derives its finances requires renewal every five years, and it is a tribute to the work of the Institute that all sections of the wheat industry unamimously agreed to the renewal of this legislation and the contribution of levies for a further five years. Among the most promising of the wheats evolved from the Institute's wheat breeding-work is " Tainui," a spring wheat, which this season (1939) was harvested at Canterbury Agricultural College over an area of 25 acres, with a yield of 52 bushels per acre. From this harvest over 1,000 bushels of seed will be available for distribution to farmers. The popularity of Cross 7 continues to increase rapidly, the acreage having increased from 84 acres in 1934 to 64,000 acres in 1938,

10