504 • Proceed I ini.'<. 



Government Rt'-^carcli (hunts. — Early in tlic year tlu' Government voted the sum of 

 £500 to the New Zealand Institute for research work. Five applications for allotments 

 were made through this Institute, and the Council is pleased to report that the follow- 

 ing grants were made to members : £200 to Dr. W. P. Evans, for investigation of New 

 Zealand brown coals ; £50 to Dr. Charles Chilton, for investigation of New Zealand 

 tlax (phormium) ; and £:}0 to Mr. L. J. Wild, for a soil survey of the Canterbury Plains 

 <l)strict. 



Go-ordination of Science and Industry. — The action of the Institute in this direction 

 during the past year led to the establishment by the Board of Governors of Canterbury 

 College of a Technological Section in the Public Library. The need of modern technical 

 literature has been very much felt during the past four years by those engaged in the 

 many attempts to establish industries of a chemical or more or less scientific nature. 



Ricrarlon Bnsh. — The Institute's representative on the Board of Trustees of the 

 Riccarton Bush reports that tlie bush has been open to the public during the year at 

 the usual times, and has been visited by large numbers. Owing to grants received from 

 several local bodies, the funds of the Board have been sufficient to allow of an increase 

 in the salary of the ranker and to cover other necessary expenditure, but are still too 

 limited to allow of such further improvements being made as the Trustees would desire. 

 The bush continues to be of great use to the botanical students in the neighbourhood 

 of Christchurch and to members ol the Institute. 



Library. — The war period, including the current year, has interfered somewhat 

 seriously with the library routine. Many parts of journals have failed to arrive — forty- 

 two parts of seventeen vohimes are missing — interfering seriously with the possibility of 

 keeping the binding of journals up to date. The inability to proceed with the binding, 

 and the delay in securing publishers accounts, are 7-esponsible for the small sum shown 

 as expended on the library. 



Finance. — The balance-sheet shows that the total receipts, including the balances 

 on the Ordinary Account, the Tunnel Investigation Account, the Australasian Antarctic 

 Expedition Account, and the reseai-ch grants were £473 4s. 8d. This sum includes a 

 deposit received during the year of £100 for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 

 Account. Owing to war conditions a considerable number of subscriptions for the year 

 are still outstantling. The expenditure includes the payment of two levies to the New 

 Zealand Institute — namely, £21 17s. 6d. in connection with volume 49 of the Trans- 

 action i, and £23 2s. (Id. for volume 50, both the volumes having been published during the 

 financial year. The expenditure on the library was £24 10s. lOd., including a sjiecial 

 contribution of £10 10s. to the Technological library. Owing to shortage of hands in 

 the office of the London agent, Messrs. William Wesley and Son, no account for scientific 

 j )urnals or periodicals supplied was received during the year. The balance for the 

 Tunnel Investigation Account still stands at £147 7s. 3d., and that of the unexjX'uded 

 research grants at £'>0. The balance of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition's Account 

 is £9 14s. 7d., and the balance of the Ordinary Account £18 17s. lOd. The Life 

 Members" Subscription Account shows a balance of £152 17s. 3d., deposited with the 

 Permanent Investment and Loan Association of Canterbury. 



