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and tufaceous sandstone merge into one another. I think, however, this will be a district likely to give employment to a mining population for some years. At the same time the system of working mines on the principle on which the Paroquet Company has started cannot be too severely criticized, namely, working the mine and erecting machinery on credit, instead of calling up their capital. When a mine is so heavily handicapped as this it takes a long time to clear itself, and if the slightest mishap takes place the creditors come down and wind the company up. Ostrich Mine. —This adjoins the south end of the Paroquet Mine. At the present time a level is being driven from the Paroquet Creek to cut the reef; this level is considerably lower than the lowest one in the Paroquet ground, and, therefore, if gold is struck in the Ostrich claim it will go a great way to establish the permanency of the reef. Golden Gem Mine. —This mine is situated on the south end of the belt of country in which the Paroquet reef exists, about a mile distant from the Paroquet workings. The ground was partially worked several years ago. At that time the lode was found too poor to pay for working, but now, when a crushing-battery is erected in the vicinity, it is deemed to be a payable undertaking. The shareholders have constructed about half a mile of a good tramway from the mine to the crushing-battery, and have now every facility for landing the quartz at the battery at a cheap rate. Golden Drop Mine. —This mine is situated on the south side of the Waiomo Creek, about a mile and a half from the crushing-battery. It was discovered by Lowry Brothers, the prospectors of the Paroquet claim. Up to the time of my visit very little work had been done. The face of the reef was laid bare, and some stone broken out, which is stacked in a paddock. The reef seems a jumbled up broken mass in the face, with no well-defined side-walls. I saw a little gold on some stones that have been taken out, but the gold appears to bo in the joints of the stone, and not through the stone itself. On the face of the stones there were blotches of very fine gold leaf, which gave a rich appearance on first sight, but on close examination it becomes very doubtful whether it will pay for working. Several dishfuls of stuff were washed from different parts of the face, but in no instance was any gold got. An adit has been driven in for a few feet and the reef cut through, but the mouth of the adit was closed up, so that I could not see the reef at this place, none of the shareholders being at the claim at the time of my visit. There is not sufficient prospecting yet done to know whether the claim will prove payable for working or not. Te Mata Disteiot. This is a district where a considerable deal of loose-quartz gold has been found from time to time in the bed of the creek ; but until recently it has never been traced to any reef. Gentle Annie Creek, which is one of the branches of Te Mata Creek, has been worked by sluicing, and portions of it paid very well. This gold has now been traced up to reefs, or what may be more properly termed quartz leaders, and a good deal of prospecting is at present being carried on in different places all over the district. I visited the two principal claims, namely, Birch and Baker's and Whitly and party's. The former claim is situate on the north side of Gentle Annie Creek, about 750 ft. above sea-level, and about four miles distant from the mouth of Te Mata Creek. Birch and Baiter's, Claim. —The reef in this claim is from 6in. to loin, in width, and shows very fair gold near the outcrop. The gold is not, however, evenly distributed through the stone, but in small seams or veins. The reef has been trenched for some distance along the top, and at the time of my visit the proprietors were taking out 5 tons to be tested by Mr. Eraser's plant in Auckland, but I have not learnt the result. There is no work yet done to prove whether this field will be a payable district or not. The reefs that are discovered can only be termed quartz leaders, and the whole of the workings in this district are confined to prospecting on leaders or gold-bearing veins close to the surface. Nothing has yet been done to prove whether they continue to go down carrying gold. Whitly and Party's Claim. —This is a claim on the spur between Te Mata and Gentle Annie Creeks, and near the junction of those creeks. Trenching along and across the spur has been carried on to a considerable extent on the surface without anything having been discovered of any note. In December last this party discovered a leader of quartz about 6in. in thickness on the side of the spur, and a very good prospect can bo obtained on the cap, but at the time of my visit scarcely any driving had been done on the leader. An adit-level was in course of construction to cut the reef at a lower level. Eecently 2 tons of quartz has been crushed, which yielded 16oz. Tapu Cbeek. Mining has almost been at a standstill here during last year. Most of the miners who used to be in this locality have gone to Te Mata and Waiomo, but some of them have again returned and commenced to work their old claims. Very rich quartz was got in this district in the early days; but the reefs, which are generally very narrow, do not appear to carry gold down to any great depth ; at least they have not been proved to do so as yet. Thames District. The recent new finds at Marototo, Puriri, Waiomo, and Te Mata have had the effect of removing a little of the gloomy aspect of mining affairs in the Thames District, and have tended to raise more buoyant hopes of a revival of the mining industry. The introduction of foreign capital in carrying on mining in this district will also infuse a new spirit in mining operations, and cause prospecting to be carried on more vigorously than it has been for the last few years. The yield of gold for the last year shows an increase over the previous year, and, when^once capital is introduced to work the mines advantageously, there is a prospect of this proving a good field for investment.