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H.-29a

No doubt Dr. Voelcker's report will be of interest to the Commission. If it should be decided to have the report published, 1 trust that care may be taken that a due acknowledgment is paid to Dr. Voelcker for it, as requested by Messrs. R. T. Turnbull and Co. in their letter forwarding the report. A copy of this letter I also enclose. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington, New Zealand. W. P. Reeves. Dear Mb. Cameron, — 4 Lloyd's Avenue, London, E.C., 25th May, 1907. As promised, I have now the pleasure of enclosing copy of Dr. Voelcker's report on the wool which was experimented upon at Wellington, the bales of which were sold by Messrs. Charles Balme and Co. on the 16th instant. In sending you this I expect that the same will be published in New Zealand, and you will no doubt see that a due acknowledgment is paid to Dr. J. A. Voelcker for his interesting report so kindly given to me in the interests of the wool industry of New Zealand. I am, <fee, R. T. Turnbull and Co. H. C. Cameron, Esq., Produce Commissioner for New Zealand, 1 3 Victoria Street, S.W. R. T. Turnbull and Co., 4 Lloyd's Avenue, 25th May, 1907. Report received from Dr. J. A. Voelcker on New Zealand Wool bt Messrs. R. T. Turnbull and Co. You will remember the two samples of wool that I took away with me from the docks—the one of the " experimented-on " wool, the other of the natural. Though the former (it was No. 391, greasy fleece, and to which 18 per cent, of water had been added in the experiment) had been damped originally, I was inclined to question whether, when I took the samples, there was much difference in the relative percentages of moisture. I accordingly determined the moisture per cent, in the two lots when I returned to my laboratory, and find these to be —Damped sample, No. 391, 13"90; natural sample, 1385. Thus, you see, there is nothing to choose between them in respect of moisture as they are now. On the general question of the "experiments" conducted on the other side, I have pointed out to you the weak points of these, the main of which are — (1.) That there were no samples taken, or actual moisture-determinations made, in the wool experimented on: (2.) That the preliminary storing in model hold from the 10th December to the 16th January was not under such conditions as would rule in the case of wool not properly dried, and put straight into the hold of a vessel: (3.) That by the time the experimented-on wools were put into the vessel's hold the " heat-ing-up " (as shown by the tables supplied) had passed off; in almost all cases the moisture had been driven off (as confirmed by my test now communicated); and there was no reason really why they should suffer damage in the ship's hold subsequently. J. Augustus Voelcker. Approximate Cost of Paper. —Preparation, not given ; printing {1,650 copies), £5 19e.

By Authority : John Mackat, Government Printer, Wellington.—l9o7.

Price 6d.]

2—H. 29a.