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The following are indicative of the type of assistance being rendered, under the segis of the Committee, by the various Divisions of the Department:— (a) Advice on bacterial contamination of ice-cream plant. (b) Substitutes for gum copal in match-manufacture. (c) Advice on suitable adhesives for mass production of pasteboard boxes. (d) Assistance on resin-impregnation of plaster of paris and resin improvement of laminated articles. (e) Investigation of paint discoloration in factories. (/) Supply of adhesives for cellophane packing of foodstuffs. (g) Improvements in drying process of gummed tapes. (h) Information on formulae for stock-licks, bone-flour, &c. (i) Assistance to cordage factory on batching oils and oil emulsions. (j) Eepair of mercury switch in footwear factory. (k) Metallurgical examination of bars for fibre comb in cordage factory. (I) Advice on control instruments for humidity, air-flow, and moisture content of leather. (m) Assistance on control of insect pests in food-factories. (n) Arrangement for duplication of precision component of German machine. (Note.—This work was beyond the scope of private engineering firms.) (o) Assistance on lay-out of a new factory. Research Associations. —-The Committee has, following the necessary Government approval, sponsored the formation of co-operative research associations within industries. Equal contributions to the funds of each association are to be made by industry and the Government, and the activities of such associations are to be controlled by management committees representative of industry and the Government. The pottery and ceramic industry has formed a research association during the year, and another industry is awaiting only formal approval of some units engaged therein before forming a research association. Publicity and Information. —During" the year the Secretary-Executive Officer has addressed the manufacturers' organization throughout New Zealand on the need for the application of science to industry and has stimulated or awakened the interest of industrialists in these matters. Information in regard to facilities available to industry through the Committee has been published in the manufacturers' own journals, in the press, and in a brochure entitled " Science in Industry." In conjunction with the Information Section, arrangements were made with the Department of Industries and Commerce for the joint publication of the Industrial Bulletin, which was previously issued by that Department. The Bulletin is now being issued in an attractive printed form. Qualified officers in the Dominion Laboratory have abstracted technical information from appropriate journals for dissemination to industry. It is hoped to extend this service in respect of scientific achievements within local industry. Window displays were sponsored through several divisions of the Department during the " New Zealand Made on Parade " Week, organized by the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association in Christchurch during September, 1945, and also at Timaru during the period of the New Zealand Manufacturers' Federation Conference in March, 1946. The resources of the Department's libraries and overseas liaison officers have been freely placed at the disposal of manufacturers, and endeavours are being made to develop the exchange of technical and industrial information especially with United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States of America. The Committee has no scientific or technical officers of its own, all industrial projects being carried out in departmental or research association laboratories. Fuel technology, involving investigations into the efficiency of fuel consumption in industrial boilers and suitable portable methods for the measurement of steam flow and of industrial temperatures, is passing the experimental stage, and it is hoped shortly to offer this additional service to manufacturers.

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