1.—12 a.

J. G. BRECHIN.]

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1. What is your opinion about the fee?—l do not think a fee should be charged for those milking five cows. A nominal fee of 2s. 6d. might be charged for over five cows. 2. What do you think in regard to floors of sheds in bush districts? —Any one who has had any practical experience of sheds knows that concrete cannot be surpassed. In some cases, however, it is impossible, unless concrete flagstones were used. I should say this plan would be far better than boarding with tongued and grooved. 3. Have you any objection to milking outside? —Not the slightest. 4. There should be allowance made for this in the regulations?— Yes, I certainly think so. 5. What do you think of giving notice to the Inspector before making any structural alterations?—l think it is right. It should be of benefit to the farmer. 6. In regard to condemning of cans, do you not think you should be allowed to use them for seven to fourteen days afterwards? —Yes, I think some time should elapsi—probably a month. It is quite impossible to get a can without rust. A can put away for the off season will come into use with rust on, but the rust will wear off in the course of a day or two. 7. Mr. Bollard.} You see no harm in milking outside on the grase—milking a cow in the open when it is raining heavily and the rain washing the stuff off the cow's body —is that no harm? —They would wait till the rain ceased when possible. It would mean, if the proposed regulations were passed, that a man milking one cow would have to have a shed with a concrete floor. 8. It would be better to have a shed of some sort. In regard to fees, do you think a man with less than five cows should not pay a fee? Do you think, in tin- case of a man having four or five cows and selling the milk to his neighbours —do you think a fee would press too heavily on him? —It is just a question of getting a fair proportion. 9. You think a man with a hundred cows should not pay more than the man with ten?— His liabilities are greater. 10. Are not his profits greater?— Yes, probably. 11. Would 10s. press heavily?—l would gladly pay it myself. I have 120 cows. 12. Why do you think a small fee? —Unless you pay a pro rata fee, and that would be a tax. 13. Mr. Lang.] You think no milk should be sent from a cow till seven days after calving. Is there not a great difference in cows: milk may be right in four days in some cases and not till seven days in other cases?—lt would be safer for the sake of the industry to make a specified time. 1-k Why should the dairyman be taxed more for his cows than for his horses? —I understand, to enforce these regulations it requires an expensive Department, ami the dairyman is getting a benefit, or expected benefit; he should at least subscribe something towards the cost of it. 15. In regard to the supply to the city, is not the benefit almost entirely the consumer's?—l should say so. 16. then, they should be the people to pay the fees?— Yes. 17. Mr. Hogg.] Do you not think the consumer pays quite a sufficient fee when he pays Is. 6d. a pound for butter?— Yes. 18. That should include all expenses?—We only get lid. a pound for our butter-fat. Alexander Redpath, Dairy-farmer, Nireaha, examined. (No. 25.) Witness: I represent the Nireaha Co-operative Dairy Company. W T e had a meeting about the proposed regulations. We are in the backblocks, and we approve of the Inspector all through. Of course, there are some clauses which I had to object to, but the Hon. the Minister has taken my leading points of objection away.. We realise it is a very hard thing to make regulations to suit everybody. Some of our men have land at 9s. rent for about 40 acres. It takes them all their time to clear their way, let alone erect a good shed. An immense amount of good has been done by the free and easy way the present Inspector has come about. He seems always to have taken into account the conditions, the state of the particular-man is in, and has only expected him to do the best he can under the circumstances. We let our cheesemaking by contract, and we do not sack our manager when he refuses'a director's milk. That has always been the way, even with a salaried manager; he has a free hand. If a man gets a can or two of milk refused, besides the disgrace, it hits him financially, and he goes to the Inspector and tries to find out the cause. Things are working very well with the inspection in our district. I have a list of objections here, but they are pretty well all concerned with the clauses the Hon. the Minister said he intended to strike out. In regard to a calf coming into the shed, we sometimes get a calf into the shed and leave it there a little while in order to quieten the cow. If an Inspector came along when this was going on we should be transgressing. A certain amount of discretion must be allowed, or the regulations would press very harshly. As far as the race is concerned, I personally approve of the race as proposed in the regulation. I think it is the only way in a wet district to keep the mud away from the shed. I like the race 30 ft. by 6 ft., and then as big a yard as possible. A large yard is a saving in expense, because if it is large enough it need not be metalled. As far as the wooden floor goes, we have dairymen in our district who have just put down splendid wooden floors. In one case a has built a cowshed with a wooden yard. It is by a creek, and the yard is 2 ft. above the water, which flows under it. There are these exceptional cases cropping up, where if the regulations pressed too hard they would cause suffering. 1. Mr. Okey.] Those starting in the backblocks have to get assistance from the auctioneers to buy their cows?— Yes, most of them. 2. Any stringent regulations would be a hardship?— Yes. 3. If "the suggested clauses are deleted and several of the clauses modified you think there would be no objection to the regulations?— Yes, if the inspectors were instructed to use their discretion. . 4. The regulations should be more of an educational character for some years? —Yes, it has been that without the regulations, Tt has been very successful.

9—l. 12a.