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The activities on the farm, in the orchard, and in the vegetable and flower gardens has continued as formerly. Patients recreation has been well provided for during the year in the way of golf, tennis, bowls, concerts, fortnightly dances, weekly cinemas, and picnics to the beach. By the donation of books and purchases from the Recreation Fund many new volumes have been added to the library. The use made of the lending portion of the library is well shown by the figures for six months, during which 4,860 books were issued. lam indebted to Mr. Hooker for his continued interest in supplying weeklies and magazines for the library reading-room. I am indebted to many individuals and societies for their donation of goods, reading-matter, and money towards patients recreation, and, although it would be impossible to name all, I desire particularly to thank the Rev. Mr. Harding, the Commercial Travellers' Association, the Smith Family, the Women's National Reserve, Women's Service Guild, New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association, Women's Institute, and the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union. I must thank the ministers of religion who have held religious services at the hospital at regular intervals. The District Inspector and Official Visitors have frequently visited the hospital during the year, and I must thank them for their helpful co-operation. There were numerous changes in the medical staff during the year. Drs. Boyd-Wilson and Campbell left to go abroad, Dr. Bowell to take an appointment at the Auckland Public Hospital, and Dr. Clay to go into practice. The greatest difficulty and real handicap in the administration of the hospital during the year has been the unavoidable shortage and changing of medical staff. In conclusion, I must thank members of the staff for their assistance in the work of the year, and more especially the Assistant Medical Officers, who, for the greater part of the year, ungrudgingly carried the extra and unreasonable burden of work occasioned by the shortage of colleagues.

NELSON MENTAL HOSPITAL. Dr. Williams reports : — I have the honour to present my annual report for the year ending 31st December, 1937. The total number of persons under care during the year was 926—24 of these were voluntary boarders. Fifty-six patients (42 males and 14 females) were admitted during the year —22 of these were transfers. Nineteen patients (11 males and 8 females) were discharged, seven (4 males and 3 females) were transferred elsewhere, and forty (25 males and 15 females) died. Seventeen patients were admitted under section 8 of the 1928 amendment to the Act. Ten voluntary boarders (7 males and 3 females) were admitted for treatment, eleven (7 males and 4 females) were discharged recovered. Not much building of a major order has been carried out during the year, but a good deal of maintenance and minor works have been done. At Ngawhatu the main drive was prepared and tar-sealing completed ; this was done also around the laundry and boiler-house. Preparation for road-sealing in Yorks Valley has also been in train, and a road to the site of the new piggeries is in course of construction. The male villas and Stoke Ward have been considerably refurbished and paiiyted, and the results are very satisfactory. The farm buildings were repaired and painted, and the laying-down of two hard tennis-courts in Yorks Valley was completed. A certain amount of developmental-work has gone on, but activities of this nature have been slowed up because of shortage of adequate working parties and the temporary transference of many of those available to urgent works elsewhere. At Nelson a pipe-line has been laid and hydrants fixed in order to provide more adequate fire protection. Fire-breaks have been made in the pine plantation, and the hillside adjacent has been prepared for further tree-planting in the autumn. Four extra breeding-pens have been constructed in pursuance of an altered policy with regard to pigs. A new lavatory was built in the boys' park, repairs were done about the kitchen, and surface draining completed about Braemar. For 1938 the tentative programme is somewhat more comprehensive, and it is hoped to begin with the building of the new Nurses' Home very shortly. The erection of further male villas to absorb the patients from Stoke Ward is also in view, and I am looking forward to this, as not only will the erection of a new stores and administration block, with its attendant advantages, then become feasible, but also will become possible better classification and more satisfactory treatment conditions for male patients. I am looking forward, also, to the provision of a small hospital and admission block, with operating-theatre and up-to-date therapeutic department attached. I am afraid that, as it is, facilities for the surgical treatment of a population of this size are hardly adequate; and, although in some cases, of course, treatment in public hospital is preferable, there are nevertheless many conditions we deal with ourselves, but in the management of which we should be considerably aided by the extension of nursing facilities. Another aspect of this matter of a separate hospital block is, I think, worth mentioning, and that is the good effect a leavening of such general work has in stimulating the interest of the staff generally. Purely mental-work,

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