United States research may revolutionise kumara growing in New Zealand. A young Maori from Te Kaha will go to study at the University of Louisiana, which has developed more than 160 strains of sweet potato.

Mr D. M. Perry of Opotiki said in announcing this recently that the coastal strip of frost-free land between Opotiki and Cape Runaway could become ‘the bread-basket of New Zealand’.

A soil survey was being made of the area and with advances made in sweet potato growing in the United States, productivity could be increased enormously.

Mr Perry said he had always thought of New Zealand as the world centre of sweet potato growing—but that was until he visited the University of Louisiana recently.

The results obtained there with sweet potatoes had been amazing. ‘It has revolutionised the economy the State of Louisiana’, he said.

Many farmers who had previously made a bare living were now driving around in luxury cars and making a lot of money with sweet potato crops.

Mr Patrick Wahanga Hohepa, a lecturer in Maori in the anthropology department at Auckland University, has been granted a Ngarimu Scholarship for a year's post-graduate study abroad. He will spend it in America, at the University of Indiana, where he will study for a master's degree in linguistics.

Mr Hohepa comes from Waimea, in the Hokianga district. He attended the local Maori primary school, and went to secondary school there. Later he gained a scholarship to study at Auckland University, and subsequently graduated with an honours M.A. degree.

The Cook Islanders are to have a museum and library. A suitable site in Rarotonga has been donated by Makea Nui Ariki, C.B.E., and already a quarter of the target of £12,000 has been collected.

In the past many people, including Princess Te Puea, have been interested in the idea of a library and museum in Rarotonga. Further information about the project can be obtained from Mr Gordon F. Russell, 40 Tremewan Street, Linden, Wellington.

A Salvation Army hostel for Maori apprentices has been opened in Gisborne by the Minister for Maori Affairs, Mr Hanan. The hostel which has been given the historic name of Te Waiteata, provides accommodation for 30 young men.

We regret the mis-spelling of a contributor's name in our last issue. The review of ‘The Arts of the Maori’ was written by Mrs Katarina Mataira. Mrs Mataira, an artist and teacher of art who has been teaching at Kaikohe, lives in Upper Hutt now.

The Rev. Ereura Te Tuhi, senior Maori superintendent of the Methodist Church from 1937 until his retirement in 1954, and acting senior Maori superintendent since then, has now finally relinquished the post. It will be taken over by the Rev. Ranginohoora Rogers of Auckland.

A plaque has been unveiled to commemorate the history of Te Tokanganui-a-noho, the famous meeting house at Te Kuiti. Te Kooti presented the meeting house to Ngati Maniapoto after they had granted refuge to him and his followers. It was constructed by two craftsmen from Bay of Plenty in 1872.

New Zealand now has a growing export trade in eels, which are being sent largely to the Continent of Europe. In Europe, people regard eels as a delicacy, just as much as Maoris do. Puha is often eaten there as a salad vegetable, too.

A church in Webb Street, Wellington, has been acquired as a place of worship for the Maori people of Wellington. The Bishop of Wellington, the Rt. Rev. H. W. Baines, and the Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt. Rev. W. N. Panapa, officiated at its dedication last month.

A Tuhoe Junior Genealogical Society has been formed. The Society's President, Mr M. Tihi, says that ‘We plan to compile a record of the culture of the tribe, and to store our findings for all time in a museum, where our young people can have easy access to them.’

Mrs Rangi Taamo Takarangi has retired after 14 years of service as a Welfare Officer with the Maori Affairs Department at Wanganui. Mrs Takarangi, who was born in Rangiriri and spent much of her life in the Rangitikei district, has been associated with many community organisations in Wanganui.