dairy industry, which has made marvellous strides within the last few years, and has developed into one of the settled industries of the colony. It is under the special care of the Minister for Lands, himself a farmer, and during his term of office the Government have been at great pains to assist in its development. Dairy experts have been introduced to the colony, their business being to instruct the farmers and factory owners in all the most approved methods of butter and cheese manufacture; and graders are employed examining all butter and cheese for export, and branding each packet with its proper quality. The export of butter and cheese from the colony for the year 1898 amounted to nearly £540,000, as against £211,801 for 1889—a big stride to make in ten years.
The frozen meat industry is also a very large factor in the prosperity of the colony, and the freezing works are in full work during the greater part of the year in almost every part of the country. The protracted drought in Australia has reduced the number of sheep depastured by many millions. New Zealand escaped with a loss of only a few hundreds of thousands, and still has 19,210,702 to her credit. The prodigious advance which the frozen meat export trade of this colony has made since its establishment seventeen years ago may be gauged by the fact that whereas in 1882 1,707,328 lbs. were exported, in 1898 there were 159,223,720 lbs., and during the first half of this year 106,008,848 lbs. The value of all the exports in 1 898 was £10,500,000; the value of New Zealand produce exported, £10,325,000, being at the rate of £13, 17s. 9d. per head of population, as against £13s, 6s. for the previous year.
Gold to the value of £53,372,634 had been obtained in New Zealand prior to December 31st, 1897, and the
