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higher than during the greatest previously known height—that is, in 1891. About 15,000 ft. of totara timber was used in this bridge ; of this quantity about 2,000 ft. have been recovered, within a mile, or thereby, of the bridge. For temporary purposes the old ford has been cleared out, the approaches lowered and fascined; but the bridge will require to be re-erected, probably as a 55 ft. overtruss, in view of the recurrence of such a flood: cost, £300. The private bridge erected by Mr. Studholme, between Turangarere and Ruanui, has been washed away; it was erected in 1895. I have not heard the cost of it —probably about £80. The Hautapu Bridge, Taihape, stood the test, but was somewhat damaged. The flood here rose 12 ft. 4 in. The span of the bridge is 55 ft. clear, overtruss, costing £300. One of the four supporting-studs on the left side was snapped in two, probably by the impact of a heavy floating log. There is a considerable fall in the river here ; the water is deep, and the course is very straight; and, notwithstanding all these advantages, the water rose within lft. of the lower chord. In view of the recurrence of a flood of this magnitude, the whole truss should be raised 3 ft., and a 15 ft. land span put on to each side, thus doing away with the present wing-walls ; the cost of this would be about £120. The Torere Bridge across the Hautapu, near Utiku, was uninjured. The wire cage at Batley's, two miles lower down than Utiku, was washed away. It cost about £20. The ford here was also destroyed. On the Moawhango Biver. —No damage was done to the wire sheep-bridge at Moawhango. This is the only bridge at present across the river. It is 115 ft. long, and 32 ft. high. The height of the flood was 28 ft. As before stated, the ford here was destroyed. It has been repaired, but is still deep. New approaches to it have been formed. Two other formerly good fords down the river, about three miles below Moawhango, have been destroyed. Bangitikei Biver. —There has been more loss in bridges on this river alone than in all losses combined over all the rest of the district. Practically a clean sweep was made of the river. Starting from the upper waters and working downwards the first damage come to is— Totinan's Gage, about three miles above the junction of the Hautapu with the Rangitikei. The cage and wire were both washed away, and have not been replaced. Mangaweha Bridge. —This was the third flood that did serious damage at this bridge. The total damage done by the three floods amounted to fully £600, the Easter flood being accountable for about £250 of this amount. The cage and wire rope were also washed away, but have been replaced. The loss 1 was principally in scaffolding and sawn timber (10,263 ft.). The volume and velocity of the water at the height of the flood was so enormous that it has been deemed advisable to abandon the original design of two 121 ft. spans resting on a cylinder-pier in the centre, and substitute a cantilever bridge with central span of 242 ft. This cantilever bridge will probably cost £9,000. If the original design had been carried out without further accident it would have cost about £6,500. All the cylinders were on the ground, also all the timber and plant. The ironwork for lower chord is now being prepared by J. Anderson, Christchurch. A large outlay has been incurred in preparations, and there is comparatively little to show for it; but a comparatively trifling further sum would have erected the bridge according to the original design. Now that the design is altered there will be a loss of probably £400 in conveying cylinders to their new destinations, altering timber, blocks, ironwork, &c. A low-level bridge, the piers composed of old railwayiron pointed and driven into the papa-bed, has been erected. The following table will show how the water rose and fell at the Mangaweka Bridge during the Easter flood: — Centre of River. 7.30 a.m. Friday .. ... ... ~. 8 ft. above normal level. Ip.m. „ ... ... ... ... 26 ft. 5 p.m. „ ... ... '. 28ft. 2 a.m. Saturday ... ... ... ... 32 ft. „ 7 a.m. „ ... ... ... ... 26ft. 6 p.m. „ ... ... ... ... 14ft. At the Otara Bridge site, a point just above the site was scoured off down to the papa, and part of the approach-road was eaten away, necessitating a deviation of road on the flat. The site will require shifting down stream about 3 chains. A cylinder-bridge was decided upon previous to this flood, but it is now proposed to erect a suspension-bridge. The ford at Otara, previously the best on the river, has now been totally destroyed. Vinegar Hill Bridge. —This was a fine bridge, consisting of two 80 ft. and two 121 ft. spans on three pairs of 6 ft. cylinders, completed early in 1896, costing nearly £7,000, of which amount the Government subscribed £2,500. One 121 ft. span, one 80 ft. span, and one pair of cylinders have been swept away, the cylinders having not been since seen. The water was over the decking before the bridge went, which it probably did about midnight of Friday. A long point of standing totara timber, of an area of about 10 acres, lay immediately above the bridge. The river, at the height of the flood, cut straight over this point, scouring it all away except one solitary tree. This enormous mass of timber, coming in a body against the bridge, together with the timber already there, was probably the cause of the final collapse. A temporary bridge of round piles of white-pine and matai has been put across the gap, and will probably last for a year or two unless another high flood comes. In order to be provided against a similar flood, the part of the bridge still standing should be raised 4 ft. or 5 ft., the missing spans re-erected, and all the cylinders well braced together, probably costing £3,500. Vnepuhi Bridge. —This bridge was erected many years ago, but has been repaired several times, £5,000 having been spent in repairs during the last six years. The last additions and repairs, costing over £3,000, were completed in February of the present year —only two months before the structure