THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
ably produced except in deep soils, on account of the
frequency of long summer droughts, which cause the
plant to send its roots far down in search of mois-
ture.

It will easily be concluded from these facts that the
conditions of the growth of the vine in Northern
Portugal are by no means favourable to the develop-
ment of Phylloxera vastatrix.

Senhor Oliveira, junior, mentions two instances of
the ravages of the insect in the port wine district.
In one of these cases, the yield of wine was reduced
from sixty pipes to eight pipes in two years, but in
neither case was it clearly proved that the destruction
was the work of the Phylloxera vastatrix. The roots
of the plants in the above-cited instances were indeed
found to be decayed, but no insects were discovered,
and no particulars of the age of the vines, depth of soil,
or character of the exposure, are given in either case.
It is clear that such statements have no scientific
value at all, and that the loss, in these cases, may
have been due to other and older enemies of the
vine.

I have inquired of several extensive vine-growers
in the Alto Douro (the port wine district), and I can
learn of no undoubted case of the appearance of
Phylloxera vastatrix. One gentleman of great
experience was inclined to think that the vine has for
many years been subject to a disease the symptoms
of which correspond to the appearance said to be
produced by the ravages of the insect. He had
lately rooted up vines of his own, whose leaves were
withered and yellow, but in no case were the roots in
any way affected. He mentioned having seen, in the
month of May of this year, a vineyard in which, in
four days, the leaves had changed from a healthy
green to the colour and appearance of the common
zonal geranium, but here, unfortunately, no further
examination was made.

The observation of the gentleman I have quoted is
worthy of all attention, but the opinions of many of
the wine-growers are fanciful beyond belief. One
authority (quoted with approval by Senhor Oliveira,
junior, and which may be cited here as a measure of
the intelligence of others) is of opinion that the
disease is in no case due to Phylloxera vastatrix, but
the result of bad air, and all the proposed remedies
he pronounces to be futile, except one—that of sub-
terraneous fumigation of the roots with sulphurous
acid gas; and this not because of any benefit to the
plant, but because it would remove the prime cause
of the disease—the foulness of the air!

The conclusions to which I have come, after fully
investigating this subject, may be summed up as
being—

1. That no certain grounds exist for believing that
   any, or, at least, any serious damage has been caused
   in North Portugal by Phylloxera vastatrix; but,
   while no scientific observation whatever has been
   brought to bear upon the subject, it is impossible to
   pronounce definitely upon its existence or non-
   existence.

2. That the great majority of vineyards in North
   Portugal will, from their peculiarities of cultivation,
   escape entirely.

3. That it would be safe to predict that, if ever the
   insect becomes numerous here, its destructive influ-
   ence will be felt first and chiefly in the vineyards
   which produce the Bairrada wine, and afterwards, and
   less extensively, in the district of port wine pro-
   duction.

This report is entirely confined to the limits of my
consular district.

OSWALD CRAWFURD.

Her Majesty's Consulate,
Oporto, 29th June, 1872.

Provincial Returning Officer appointed.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Wellington, 26th May, 1873.
HIS Excellency the Officer Administering the
Government has been pleased to appoint
WILLIAM LAWRENCE SIMPSON, Esq.,
to be Returning Officer for Provincial Elections for
the Districts of Dunstan and Kawarau, in the Pro-
vince of Otago.

DONALD MCLEAN,
(in the absence of the Colonial Secretary).

Provincial Returning Officer appointed.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Wellington, 22nd May, 1873.
HIS Excellency the Officer Administering the
Government has been pleased to appoint
JAMES PILLANS MAITLAND, Esq.,
to be Returning Officer for the election of Members
of the Provincial Council of the Province of Otago
for the Electoral Districts of Waihola, Milton, and
Matau, vice John Dewe, Esq., resigned.

DONALD MCLEAN,
(in the absence of the Colonial Secretary).

Provincial Returning Officer appointed.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Wellington, 23rd May, 1873.
HIS Excellency the Officer Administering the
Government has been pleased to appoint
JOHN NUGENT WOOD, Esq.,
to be Returning Officer for the election of Members
of the Provincial Council for the District of Oreti,
in the Province of Otago.

DONALD MCLEAN,
(in the absence of the Colonial Secretary).

Provincial Returning Officer appointed.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Wellington, 26th May, 1873.
HIS Excellency the Officer Administering the
Government has been pleased to appoint
HENRY JOHN ABEL, Esq.,
Returning Officer for Provincial Elections for the
Districts of Tuapeka and Waitahuna, in the Province
of Otago, vice William Lawrence Simpson, Esq.,
resigned.

DONALD MCLEAN,
(in the absence of the Colonial Secretary).

Provincial Registration Officer appointed.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Wellington, 23rd May, 1873.
HIS Excellency the Officer Administering the
Government has been pleased to appoint
WILLIAM PARKER STREET, Esq.,
to be Registration Officer for the Province of Otago,
to form Electoral Rolls for the election of Members
of the Provincial Council thereof.

DONALD MCLEAN,
(in the absence of the Colonial Secretary).

Clerk in the Treasury appointed.

Treasury,
Wellington, 26th May, 1873.
HIS Excellency the Officer Administering the
Government has been pleased to appoint
HENRY BLUNDELL, Esq.,
to be a Clerk in the Treasury.

JULIUS VOGEL,
Colonial Treasurer.