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liable to be flooded, had necessitated the raising of homestead sites, so that they had been called upon to raise half an acre on each holding with a view to erecting cottages, milking-yards, &c. They had with these milking-yards a cottage for the man and his family; and they had found no difficulty in getting the best of men, with families of from three to six, to go into occupation of the farms, milking on an average fifty-five cows to the 100 acres. The whole of these men had children old enough to assist them, and the man and possibly his wife were assisted by two and sometimes three of their children; and they had found that the man with his family were placed in such a position that they could comfortably overtake the work of fifty-five cows. The terms imposed were that the company were to remain the proprietors of the land. They stocked a farm at the beginning of each season with a fresh herd of cows. The men received 1-jd. a gallon for their milk. The proprietors took the milk at the factory and converted it into cheese; and received as rent, and to cover the cost of making the cheese, the difference between the value of the milk sold at ljd. a gallon, and what it was worth for cheese-making. In an ordinary season—it depended very much whether the man was a good milker; for a bad milker would soon put the cow off the milk—a man who was possessed of qualifications to properly control a dairy-farm could, by looking after the work during the season, make from £125 to £150 out of fifty-five cows at 1-Jd. a gallon ; so that the men were thoroughly well satisfied, seeing that, in addition to the amount mentioned, they had a free house and free milk. They had found that the men, when they thoroughly got into the work, could extend the milking season for from six weeks to two months. As they all knew, in the winter grass disappeared, and unless provision were made for this, the cows went off at the end of May or the beginning of June. Their men found it best to enclose 5 or 10 acres for hay, so that the supply of hay they laid in in this way kept the cows in milk for six weeks or two months beyond the ordinary season, thus enabling them to secure a larger return. So far as the proprietors were concerned, they found it cost Id. a pound for making cheese. They found that, for ordinary purposes, a gallon of milk would make a pound of cheese; and, seeing that the average price of cheese for a couple of years or so had been 4fd., the margin, after allowing for depreciation of the cattle, and after paying their rates, gave them something like £1 6s. an acre for rent. This was a very ample return on the value of the land. The land was estimated to be worth from £12 to £15 an acre. They had nine farms working at the present time on this basis; these were added to every year, and they hoped in time to have the whole 1,500 acres worked in this way. He thought these remarks might be of interest; and he believed that the co-operative dairy industry was profitable not only to those employed in it, but to the landowners themselves. Mr. Boag had proved by experience nearly all that Mr. Eoberts had said. Years ago he used to have three dairies himself, which he found highly satisfactory while the prices were good. He used to let the cows at £5 a head, and £2 10s. a head for the heifers. He found everything with the exception of provisions, and derived considerable profit from the pigs. One man who had worked for him for six years, and for three years of that time, in addition to working six hours a day on the farm, had, with the assistance of his wife and a boy, milked thirty-three cows a day. This man left him with over £600 in his pocket. These were the class of people he should like to see in the country. They milked thirty-three cows. But when the cheese came down to 3Jd. a pound, he did not make very much. It was a very good industry, and it gave an excellent opportunity to men with a little energy to make an independence for themselves. He could bear out Mr. Eoberts's remarks in toto. In all his (Mr. Boag's) experience it was made imperative that the cows' bags and teats should be washed when required, and by so doing there was no necessity for dirt of any sort. Mr. Goedon thought it was advisable to provide shelter for the cattle at nights. His Government had had an expert for four years, and so well had he done his work that one of his pupils had been able to take a responsible position in a northern district. Mr. Coleman Phillips said that Mr. Eoberts had referred to his nine farms. He might be able to keep those in proper order—he might do so by raising the floor of the milking-sheds. He believed that it was only by the agricultural societies taking this matter in hand and offering prizes for the best-kept dairy, that they could hope to keep the produce up to a high standard. They would have to consider this phase of the matter if they wished to send large supplies of butter to England. If the Conference passed the resolution in its present form it would only emphasize the action of Victoria in granting large bonuses to the butter industry, and the Victorians would feel that they were quite justified in passing these ridiculous bonuses. He would point out that Mr. Eoberts's remarks tended to show the value of co-operation, not Government assistance. Mr. Beydone said Mr. Eoberts had given such a good description of the dairying conducted at Henley that it was unnecessary for him to say much, as his company's dairy was conducted on very much the same principle. They had concrete floors in the milking-sheds, which were washed out after each milking. At Edendale they followed very much the same principle of dairying as Mr. Eoberts had described. At first they had had difficulty in making the farmers believe that it was a paying business. He had had to buy about four hundred cows for the factory, but gradually they were beginning to lease the farms for dairying purposes, and getting the farmers to send in the milk. They had forty or fifty farms sending in milk at the present time. The company had only about a hundred cows themselves, and there were about a thousand or twelve hundred outsiders. The difficulty at first was the milking, but now the farmers did it with their own families. The manager of their property went round occasionally, and saw that the milking was properly done, and that the milking-places were kept clean. He believed that their milk when it went into the factory was as clean as it possibly could be. This milk was converted into butter and cheese, and exported, and they paid the current price for the milk. He had tried the leasing of the cows at first, but found it did not work satisfactorily, and now the settlers provided their own. The company leased them the land. The people seemed contented, and to be making a comfortable living for themselves; so that dairying, so far as the company was concerned, was a success, and their