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It is, therefore, a matter of the very first importance to provide this spa with an adequate hot-water supply. Indeed, several of the important recommendations made in this report (e.g., the formation of the two douche baths, &c.) cannot be successfully carried out without first of all getting a largely increased hot-water supply. Having made inquiries as to the cost of boring, I give the following quotations : The estimate of the Inspector of Mines, Thames (who knows the country) is an average of £3 per day for a 4 in. bore, of which he calculates that from 20 ft. to 40 ft. could be done per day for the first 200 ft. ; after that the number of feet driven per day decreases as the depth increases, but I cannot state exactly in what ratio. This estimate is based on the use of the boring plant owned by the Government, and controlled by the Mines Department. Mr. D. 0. Thompson, local representative of the Goldfields Diamond Drilling Company of Kalgoorlie, who is at present conducting boring-operations in the Thames District, is willing to do similar work here, using a bore of in. in diameter at the following rates: —l2s. per foot from surface to 1,000 ft. level; 15s. from 1,000 to 1,200 ft. level; 17s. 6d. from 1,200 to 1,500 ft. level. The Department would have the privilege of stopping or continuing boring at any time, after the 300 ft. level had been reached. The company would provide and man the whole of the necessary plant, and carry out operations on any reasonable site chosen by the Department. They will not agree to begin operations for a less amount than the value of 300 ft. I therefore strongly recommend that the first work-of auy description undertaken by the Department in the interests of this spa be in the direction of trying to secure an adequate hot-water supply. The Superintendent, Tourist Department, Geo. G. Kenny, M.8., Wellington. Eesident Medical Officer.

APPENDIX 111. EEPOET ON THE LITTLE BAEEIEE ISLAND. Sir, — Auckland Institute, Auckland, 17th June, 1903. I have the honour to forward the following report ou the Little Barrier Island, the guardianship of which has been placed by the Government in the hands of the Institute. The curator employed by the Institute, Mr. E. H. Shakespear, has resided on the island for the whole of the year. He reports that no unauthorised person has attempted to land on the island, and that there has been no interference with any portion of the fauna. The position of his house, which commands the whole of the south and south-west shores of the island, including the two chief landing-places, renders it easy to keep a constant watch on the greater part of the island, and in order to make it quite certain that the eastern and northern sides are not surreptitiously visited, regular trips are made by boat whenever the weather will permit. It may be mentioned that this part of the island is surrounded by cliffs ranging in height from 400 ft. to over 800 ft., which can only be scaled in two or three localities. The landing in front of these places is difficult and often dangerous, and it is not at all probable that collectors will risk an attempt to land in a locality when a sudden change of weather would effectually trap them. The curator has kept open a track to the summit of the island, the altitude of which is about 2,200 ft., and he has also maintained a few other tracks that are necessary for visiting various localities. In previous reports it has been mentioned that the chief enemy of the native birds appears to be wild cats. These were introduced by the Maoris many years ago, and were allowed by them to run wild. By poisoning, shooting, and trapping the curator has thinned their numbers considerably, and they are now not often seen. The Norway rat, which is such a serious enemy on the mainland, has fortunately never found its way to the Little Barrier. The Maori rat, which is common, does not appear to injure the birds in any way. The curator reports that birds are everywhere plentiful. Bell-birds and tuis are particularly abundant, and breed in great numbers on the flat near the southern landing-place. Whiteheads and robins, which are now practically extinct on the mainland, are by no means uncommon. The rare stitch-bird, to seek which so many collectors visited the island before it was acquired by the Government, is mainly seen on the south-east side of the island, but during the last two or three years several pairs have been seen during winter on the flat near the curator's house. The curator considers that it has increased considerably since he was placed in charge of the island. It is interesting to know that all the species of birds mentioned in the lists prepared by Captain Hutton and Mr. Eeschek, and published in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, are still to be found on the island. And there can be little doubt that if a resident curator is maintained, thus preventing the depredations of collectors and dealers in natural-history specimens, the island will long remain a secure home for a large part of the avifauna of New Zealand.