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purchase at very reasonable prices a large number of Pacific Island objects, and a few desirable Maori weapons, ornaments, and garments. A good series of Australian aboriginal weapons was also purchased, and the Museum now possesses fairly representative collections illustrating the ethnography of Australia, New Guinea, and the chief groups of the Pacific Islands, excluding New Caledonia. The most interesting Maori object obtained during the year was ako or agricultural implement with a solid foot-rest, dug up in a Waikato swamp, and obtained by exchange. Another important exchange resulted in the acquisition of a number of tracings of South African rock-paintings and Australian rock-carvings. Donations of interest include six oil paintings of Maoris, presented by A. Turnbull, Esq., and a number of Maori, Japanese, Indian, and other weapons presented by Mrs. Tegner. The collection of prehistoric skulls has been increased by the purchase of a cast of the Mousterian skull and mandible. Of special interest to the juvenile visitors is a sledge used by the recent Shackleton expedition, which was purchased at an auction. During the year a number of important volumes have been presented, which form a valuable acquisition to the Museum library. Chief among these are the volumes on the rare Scottish tartans and "Tlie Black Book of Taymouth," from Mr. Hugh Handyside, of Scotland; "The New-Zealanders " (Angus), from the General Manager of the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts; and ninety volumes of The Yachting World and The Yachtsman, from A. H. Turnbull, Esq., of Wellington. Officers' Reports. Mr. J. McDonald reports as follows :— Museum Galleries. —The most important part of the work of the year was the registration and arranging of the numerous plans, drawings, and photographs in the collection acquired from Mr. W. Gordon, of New Plymouth. The southern end of the Museum gallery was cleared to give space for the screens and revolving frames used for displaying the exhibits. The contents of the cases containing sundry exhibits of stone implements in this section were rearranged in cases extending round the western side of the gallery. During the year an overhaul has been made of all the cases on the ground floor, and each thoroughly cleaned. The Maori garments and other exhibits in the large glass case on this floor were removed and examined, rearranged, and relabelled. A number of pieces of carving which still appeared to be affected by the woodboring beetle were subjected to further and more prolonged treatment in solution and repainted. The two large Maori canoes in the Museum yard have also been repaired and repainted. Sundry collections acquired from private owners and sale-rooms have enabled us to fill gaps in the Polynesian collections and Maori War exhibits. The forty framed drawings and sketches of the Chevalier collection have been transferred to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts Gallery in Whitmore Street, and are now on exhibition there with the National Art Collections. Their place in the Museum has been filled by the water-colour drawings and sketches of the Robley Collection. Illustrations and Photographic Section. —The major portion of the illustrations required for Museum Bulletin No. 6 have been completed, and are now in the hands of the processengraving department at the Government Printing Office. It is hoped to have the remaining portion of the illustrations completed in the early part of the ensuing year. In the photographic seotion prints have been made of all but a few of the uninde.xed negatives, and these have been mounted and numbered. A shortage in supplies of photographic papers has prevented the completion of the prints. Library. —During the year thirteen cases of books and other publications were received from the International Exchange Service at Washington, U.S.A., and the contents, numbering 1,630 packages, distributed to recipients throughout the Dominion. Books and other publications received for the Library of the New Zealand Institute and the Museum have been recorded as they came to hand. Mr. Elsdon Best reports as follows : — The ethnographical work completed during the past year is represented by three monographs as follows: (1) "Games and Pastimes of the Maori" (300 foolscap sheets); (2) "Polynesian Voyages" (74 sheets manuscript); (3) "Maori Agriculture" (270 foolscap sheets). No. 1 forms No. 8 of the Dominion .Museum Bulletins, while No. 2 may either be added to the former as a supplementary chapter or published in a separate form. No. 3 above is marked as Bulletin No. 9. It may be explained that No. 2 contains a considerable amount of curious and interesting information on the subject of voyages and migrations of Polynesians and Maoris, a considerable amount of which was published in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute for 1915. It has been our aim in this ethnographical work to deal first with such subjects as have received the least attention from other writers on tlie .Maori; hence the omission so far in our series of any monograph on Maori dwellinghouses and on Native clothing and modes of weaving. In regard to these two subjects we are fortunate in the possession of the excellent work done by Archdeacon 11. Williams and Major Buck. At the same time these two subjects are not being neglected, and we have about 250 foolscap sheets of notes under those headings. Bulletin No. 5, on " Maori Storehouses and Kindred Structures," has lately been published; while Mr. J. McDonald, of this Department, is now preparing illustrations for No. 6 on Pa Maori or Native fortifications. No field-work has been done during the past- year, but interesting contributions of material have been received from sundry correspondents, notably from Mr. T. W. Downes, of Whanganui, Mr. T. V. Knapp, of Nelson, Hakaraia Pahewa, of Te Kaha, and Karaka Tarawhiti, of Huntly. In view of the fact that further light has been thrown on certain primitive myths conserved by the Maori folk by collections made in many quarters, and that we have a considerable amount of unpublished material of that nature on hand, it is proposed that a monograph dealing with such mythopoetic concepts be compiled, hi furtherance of this design a certain amount of translation from the original has already been done. Conceptions of this nature are of much interest to European anthropologists.

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