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tion of arsenic and caustic soda, but tins is effective only in dry climates. The expenditure of a sum of money in conducting experiments to discover the most practicable and effectual method of eradicating blackberry would be amply justified, and I would strongly recommend that this course be adopted. At the date on which the administration of education-endowment reserves was vested in the Land Board, practically the whole of the area reserved was held under leases which are still .current. The reserves include an area of some 7,000 acres of land carrying sawmilling timber, the right to cut which has already been granted, and, as a large proportion of this area is situated in the southern portion of the district, it is improbable that the timber will be cut out for some years. In the meantime the land cannot be dealt with for agricultural purposes, as the destruction of a large amount of valuable sawmilling timber would result. The operations of the past year have been very satisfactory both in the matter of the increase in settlement and the revenue received, and the prospects for the coming year are very promising. During the year a vacancy occurred on the Land Board owing to the resignation of Mr. M. J. Pollock, to whom the district is indebted for ten years of useful and attentive service. My thanks are due to the office staff for the capable manner in which they have performed the various duties allotted to them. I would, especially mention Mr. Sandford, Chief Clerk, for the very efficient manner in which he has carried on the work of the office during my absence on the Forestry Commission. H. D. M. Haszard, Commissioner of Crown Lands.

CANTERBURY. Lands offered for Disposal. During the past financial year there lias been great activity, and the officers of the Land Board have been very fully employed in the disposal of fourteen new settlements, situated mostljin South Canterbury, under the Land for Settlements Act, comprising 95,853 acres. Further particulars are given in separate report. In the Hororata and Rangiora Survey Districts there were 63 acres sold at auction at the price of £377. In the Cheviot Estate 634 acres were disposed of in twelve lots, under renewable lease, by ballot. The pastoral run adjoining the big bush at Kowai, in the Selwyn County, comprising 6,600 acres, was offered at auction, and was disposed of at the upset price. Another pastoral run was let for the first time in the Waipara County, containing 445 acres, the upset rental being £112 per annum, and was disposed of at an annual rental of .£155. The license of a pastoral run at Lake Coleridge fell in, and was reoffered as two small grazing-runs, forty-five applicants being admitted to the ballots. Land Revenue, Payment of Rents, Arrears, and Rebates. The total revenue for the past year amounted to £202,256 13s. lid., being an increase of ,£29,685 18s. Id. over the previous year. This is due to the great increase of lands selected under the Land for Settlements Act. The total amount of rent in arrears at the 31st March, 1912, exclusive of current payments, was £6,462 2s. 3d., or 3 per cent, on the annual rent-roll. The total sum allowed for rebates for prompt payment of rent was £10,433 Bs. 7d., the number of tenants who participated in this privilege being 2,391. Freehold. Four holders of leases in perpetuity, comprising 364 acres 1 rood 12 perches of Crown land, to the value of £704 14s. lid., have applied to acquire freehold under the provisions of the Land Laws Amendment Act, 1912; and one holder of renewable lease of settlement land has also taken advantage of the opportunity to apply for the purchase of the freehold under the legislation of last session. All these transactions have not yet b;>en completed. Forfeitures and Surrenders. Twelve transactions of " Lands-for-settlement Lands " came under this heading, comprising an area of 1,728 acres 2 roods 13 perches, mostly due to applicants selecting land in the new settlements without previously inspecting it, and then refusing to sign the lease. The figures this year show a reduction of eight in comparison with last year. Rangers' Reports and Condition of Settlements. • The settlements in the whole of the district, with very few exceptions, are in a highly prosperous and flourishing condition; the exceptions are the later settlements, ov/ing tc the partial failure of the grain crops and the smallness of some of the areas. A noticeable feature of the land-ballots held during the year was the preference by applicants for pastoral instead of agricultural lands. The season of 1912 was one of the worst experienced for some years by the North Canterbury pastoral-run holders, the percentage of losses in stock being very much greater than Usual owing to the severe winter and heavy falls of snow, which also considerably reduced the lambing percentages. The high prices now ruling for all classes of sheep places these holders at a considerable disadvantage in replacing their

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