H.—29

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(ion work at the markets and elsewhere. Some little difficulty is being experienced where a'grower sends fruit to the market in second-hand cases bearing another grower's registered number. This is, of course, a breach of the regulations, and where not rectified after due warning by the Department further action will require to be taken against the offenders. 4 Orchard Registration and Orchard-tax. —The operations of the Orchard-tax Act have been renewed for another five years, the original Act having expired on 31st December, 1921. During the year under review 7,121 commercial orchards w.;re registered, and tax-demand notices to the same; number sent out from this office. The total amount collected in tax was £2,216. Considerable difficulty is experienced in a number of instances in collecting the tax owing to frequent changes in ownership, &c. All moneys received under the Act are paid over to the New Zealand Fruitgrowers' Federation (Limited), less cost of collection, and are utilized by that body, subject to the approval of the Minister of Agriculture, in organizing and improving the fruit industry of the Dominion as a whole. Registration and Inspection of Nurseries. —This work is proceeding satisfactorily, and. considerable improvement is noticeable in the quality and cleanliness of nursery stock since the regulations came into force in 1916. A total of 255 nurseries was registered and inspected, and a corresponding number of certificates issued during the year, an increase of thirty-four as compared with the previous year. Nursery fees collected amounted te> £531. Horticultural Stations and Experimental Orchards. —In view of the need for economy no new experimental work was unelertaken at these stations. It was decieled to close the Arataki and Tauranga stations, and final arrangements are now in hand for their disposal, with the exception of a small area at Tauranga which will be retained until thc experimental work now in progress in connection with citrus-culture has been finally completed. Te Kauwhata (Lower Waikato) : In spite of inclement weather the fruit crop was fair. The grape crop, however, was a light one ; some varieties set well, but others were very poor. On the fruit-farms area of the station the; young trees have made good growth, and so far no fireblight has been detected in any of the five blocks. There was a considerable falling-off in the sales of wines from thc station, due no doubt to the general financial depression. Arataki : The fruit crop generally was a satisfactory one —apricots and plums bearing heavy crops. The bulk of the grape crop was sold for wincmaking purposes. Some fifteen thousand vine cuttings on resistant stocks were rooted during the spring, the weather being exceptionally good for this purpose. All the grafted vines were disposed of, the demand for these being in excess of the, quantity available. Spraying experiments were continued. Tauranga (Bay of Plenty) :AH fruit-crops were light. The citrus-trees in the experimental area are now well established, and some are commencing to bear fruit. Tests were carried out witli different varieties of citrus-stocks. The avocado pears and pomegranates have made good growth, and a number blossomed. So far, however, they have set no fruit. Tests were conducted with a few varieties of tomatoes, find further trials made with kumeras, maize, and melons. Papanui Experimental Orchard, Christchurch : A large number of tests were carrieel out for the control of codlin-moth, powdery mildew, red mite, woolly aphis, and black-spot, and several largely attended field-days were held in thc orchard under the auspices of the Canterbury Fruitgrowers' Association and the fruitgrowers' instruction classes. Inspection of Imported Fruit, Plants, and Vegetables. —There was a considerable increase in the quantity of fruit anel plants imported as compared with the previous year. Thc Fruit Inspectors report that the majority of consignments came to hand in good condition. Coconuts from Fiji and Samoa were found to be infected with the fruit-fly maggot. It was also found necessary to condemn and destroy a number of lines of citrus-fruit for fly-infection. Fumigation before delivery had to be carried out in connection with a few consignments affected with scale and mealy bug, and several lots of maize, wheat, and rice infected with weevil had to undergo the same treatment. There was a considerable increase in the number of packages received through the parcels-post. Bulb-mite; and narcissus-fly infection were found in a number of packages, and the contents had to be condemned and destroyed. Vineyards and Vinehouses. —Notwithstanding adverse climatic conditions there has been an increase in the production of table-grapes and in the quantity of wine manufactured, the increases being due to newly planted vines coming into bearing. Good prices have been obtained for tablesgrapes on the wholesale markets, though they did not reach the exceptional prices ruling last year. It is estimated the season's yielel of wine will be 80,000 gallons, which, at a reasonable estimate of Bs. per gallon, represents a value of £32,000. There are approximately 880 glasshouses in thc Dominion at the present time. The total yield of grapes under glass is estimated at 552,000 lb., which, at this season's average wholesale price of Is. 3d. per pound, has a value of £34,500. Beekeeping Industry. —This industry continues to make steady progress. The; number of registered apiaries is now 7,386, representing a total of 96,051 hives. A pleasing feature is the number of returned soldiers who have taken up beekeeping as a means of livelihood after having received a course of practical instruction in this subject at the training-farms before launching out. Thc past season has unfortunately not been a favourable one from the beekeepers' standpoint. The honeymarket has, however, remained firm, and prices have been fairly satisfactory. The inspection of apiaries has been carried out as systematically as the large districts allotteel to the Inspectors will allow. Lectures and demonstrations in the modern methods of beekeeping have been continued by the Apiary Instructors and Inspectors in their respective districts. It is intended to extentl the value of the winter lectures by means of lantern-slides dealing with up-to-date beekeeping subjects. Export of honey. —The following quantities of honey were graded for export at the different grading-stores during the year : Auckland, 6,678 cases ; Wanganui, 163 cases ; Wellington, 527 cases ; Timaru, 662 cases; Dunedin, 465 cases; Bluff, 220 cases: total, 8,715 cases —an increase of 1,598 cases as compared with last year's figures. Practically the whole of the exportable honey from Canterbury was shipped to Auckland for the purpose of meeting the increased local demand and for