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185. Your position is this : that if a person has a certain amount of codlin-rnoth in his orchard it is unfair to prevent him sending clean fruit to the market, which this clause would do?— Yes. . 186. You believe in cultivating an orchard : does that mean keeping the ground clean or growing other crops on it ?—Keeping it clean. 187. You mentioned spraying with Bordeaux mixture twice. At what time do you usually spray ?—Just when the buds are bursting, and again after the petals drop. I have sprayed with ammoniated carbonate of copper as well, and found it equally efficacious. 188. Mr. Meredith.] Is the Provincial District of Canterbury comparatively free from the codlinmoth and other fruit-pests ?—lt is comparatively free from the codlin-moth, with the exception of Akaroa. lam not speaking from my own experience, but lam told that it is so. The scale and the red spider are universal. 189. You have very strong objections to importing infected fruit in cases to Canterbury?— Yes, I have very strong objections. 190. You find that the indiscriminate distribution of cases helps to infect fruit?— Yes. 191. You have read the Bill?— Yes. 192. Have you read clause 3, which proposes to exempt the Auckland Provincial District from the provisions of this Bill ?—Yes, I have read it. 193. Are you in favour of exempting any portion of New Zealand from the operations of the Bill?—I see no objection as a fruit-grower if they send out clean fruit only under supervision. 194. I am speaking now in the interest of fruit-growing throughout the colony in its large and general sense, and not from any local view. Do you think that it is in the interest of fruit-growing generally that Auckland should be exempted from the operations of the Bill ?—No ; I do not see any reason why it should be exempted. 195. Are you aware to what extent fruit-growing as a commercial pursuit is carried on in Canterbury—that is to say, as an industry taking up the whole of a man's time ? —During the last six years it has increased very much, and people are going in for it very largely now. I consider myself it will be a very big thing, second or third only to the frozen-meat trade and the dairying industry. I think it has a very large future before it if properly carried out, and the only way to do it successfully is first to plant your orchard properly, and cultivate and spray systematically. People put in their trees and expect to get fruit from them without doing anything else. They will even run cattle among their trees. The sooner they are brought to see that they are doing wrong the better it will be for their own interest and for their neighbours in preventing the spread of diseases of all sorts. We are now shipping large quantities of fruit from Canterbury to other parts of the colony and to South America. 196. Hon. the Chairman.] Is it not already an important industry ?—Yes. During the last five or six years much greater energy has been shown by the growers, resulting in a vastly increased production. 197. Mr. Wason.] You will recollect that last year at a meeting in Christchurch it was stated to the members representing the district in the House that a large number of cases of infected fruit were sent down from Auckland to Canterbury, and that as they were being taken along in carts the codlin-moths were actually dropping out of them ?—Yes, that is correct. 198. Do you think that this Bill gives the Inspector sufficient power to deal with such cases— I mean under section 9of the Bill ? From what was said at that time it seemed to be absolutely necessary that the Inspectors should have power to destroy all infected fruit: do you think it was necessary ?—I do. 199. Mr. Massey.] In answering Mr. Meredith you said that the fruit-growing industry in Canterbury was prosperous, and that it was growing more so ? —Yes. 200. Do you think that this Bill would make it still more prosperous if it were to come into law ?—Yes, I do. There would be more and better fruit grown, which would result in outside markets being further developed. People would then find that they would get regular prices for their fruit, as is the case in Tasmania, and it would induce merchants to buy for shipment abroad. 201. Do the people in Canterbury at present produce sufficient fruit for their own requirements ?—No, hardly enough. 202. You import a certain quantity? —Yes, a certain quantity. 203. Are you here as the representative of an association?— Yes, lam one of the representatives of the Canterbury Fruit-growers' Association. 204. Has your association held a meeting since this Bill has been circulated?— Yes ; they had an informal meeting, at which I was appointed one of their representatives. 205. Lately? —Yes, it was lately; within the last three weeks. 206. At that meeting were you appointed as their representative ? —Yes, I promised to go. 207. Did the association consider this Bill ?—Yes, at this meeting. 208. Hon. the Chairman.] Have you only had one meeting since this Bill was circulated ? —I do not know how long this Bill has been circulated. 209. Has the Bill been considered by the association?—By some members of it. 210. But not as a body ?—No, not as a body. It was considered by the committee at this meeting, and I was appointed to be representative. 211. Mr. Meredith.] Is your committee the executive of the Fruit-growers' Association ?— Yes. 212. Mr. Massey.] Did they go through the Bill clause by clause?— Yes. 213. Are they in favour of the whole of the Bill?— Some amendments drafted by the chairman are desired. 214. Would you tell us what clause they object to ?—Clause 3. 215. That is the clause which relates to the Auckland District ?—Yes. They also object to clause 8, which says that no fruit can be removed from an infected orchard, whether it be clean or