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SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH BUREAU During the year the Bureau has been concerned mainly with the analysis and preparation for publication of the data obtained from the survey of the standards of living of dairy-farmers, the field-work for which was completed last year. This survey has yielded a large amount of interesting and valuable data which are being incorporated in a special report. The field-work of the urban survey dealing with the standards of living of boot and shoe and tramway workers has now been completed, and good progress has been made with the analysis and interpretation of the data. A feature of the year's work has been the increased facility of the staff in dealing with the large mass of data which is secured by comprehensive surveys such as the two that have been conducted. The dairy-farm survey was a pioneer effort by the Bureau staff, and the experience obtained from this has been used in good stead to obtain a better organization and treatment of the urban surveys. DOMINION LABORATORY. In addition to the large volume of work carried out by the Dominion Laboratory during the year for various Government Departments, a number of investigations of special importance are in progress. Coal Survey. —The physical and chemical examination of coal samples from the West Coast areas has been continued, and the field survey work, coupled with the analytical examination in the laboratory, has produced information of very considerable value in assessing the possibility of establishing an iron and steel industry in New Zealand. Kauri-gum.—Research work carried out by Dr. J. Hosking in England in connection with the commercial development of his process for the refining of crude and " chip " grades of kauri-gum have established beyond doubt the value of gum refined by this process for the preparation of varnishes of excellent quality. A promising field also appears to be open for the production of lacquers with a matt surface. A number of samples of chip gum have been analysed by the Laboratory in connection with an investigation of washing and cleaning processes for chip gum with a view to improving their efficiency. Phormium Tenax. —Several processes for the production of phormium fibre or pulp were examined and reported 011. Spinning tests were made on fibre produced by the improved tail-stripper, with very favourable results. Curing of Lemons. —This investigation was completed during the year, and the results are being published in the New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology. The best results were obtained by storage in a slow current of air at a temperature of 70° F. and a relative humidity of 90 per cent, for a period of five to six weeks. Coal-gas equivalent to 1 part of ethylene in 30,000 of air was introduced into the air system for the first three weeks. Commercial trials under the conditions recommended are needed to complete this work. Gas Storage of A'pples. —Further work 011 the gas storage of apples of the Washington and Ballarat varieties has indicated the temperatures and relative concentrations of carbon dioxide and oxygen at which the greatest improvement in their quality and length of storage life is likely to be obtained. Quartz Spectrograph. —The large quartz spectrograph has been in continuous use for a variety of purposes ranging from the analysis of metals to the distribution of trace elements in biological materials. For example, the manganese content of citrus leaves affected with mottle-leaf was found to be definitely lower than that of healthy leaves. The examination of a number of pasture samples for their minor element content has begun. Grass-seed Dryer.—The Chemical Engineering Section of the Laboratory has devised and patented a machine for the drying of grass-seed to the optimum moisture content required to obviate deterioration in storage and transport. The semi-commercial dryer constructed at the Laboratory has worked very satisfactorily, and designs are now being prepared for a dryer of commercial size. Paints and Paint Materials. —A very large quantity of paint and paint materials is used each year on Government-owned buildings. The value of work done by the Laboratory in checking the quality of the paints used is being recognized to an increasing extent, and arrangements are being made through a special Paint Investigation Committee for large-scale trials on actual buildings in order to correlate the composition of the paints and the actual painting procedure with their protective value and durability. METEOROLOGICAL BRANCH. There has been further expansion of the meteorological services to meet the demands created by the opening-up of new air routes and the institution of more frequent services by commercial air lines. The preparations for the trans-Tasman service have reached an advanced stage. Accommodation for the meteorological staff with its organization has been provided in the Terminal Building at Auckland. Australia, meanwhile, has established an observatory on the " Awatea" and placed special observers at Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands. A twenty-four-hour service should shortly be in operation for trans-ocean flying. The final details of the organization of the trans-Tasman route were settled at a Conference in Melbourne in December, at which the Meteorological Office was represented. Close co-operation has been maintained, also, with the Air Department in reference to the requirements of military aviation.

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