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Edward Stephen Cock examined. (No. 16.) 1. Mr. Mueller.] Your name is Edward Stephen Cock, and you arc a son of Mr. Frederick Cock, a previous witness/ —Yes. 2. You have resided on your father's land practically all your life/—Yes. 3. You are managing the farm for your father now /—Yes. 4. You have had to do with the cattle, horses, cows, and calves on this farm all your lite. Yes 5. The last flood you lost several calves! -We lost one in the last flood, and we lost live calves. one mare, and two cows in the last three years. 0 The marc and the cow were lost through getting bogged and being drowned?— Yes. 7 What happened to the calves/—The first three that died we did not know what happened to, but we examined the last two. The first one we opened was full of coarse grasses mixed with silt. That substance was inside the two we opened. 8. Was thai not a hard cake/—Yes, in a sort of a ball. 9 Did you break it to examine it?— Yes; it was coarse stuff with silt all through it. 10. In one of these calves did you find more than one of these lumps?— Yes, there were four in one of the animals. . 11 What si/.e would these balls lie /—The biggest would be a little bigger than my tisl. 12. Have you any doubt of the cause of death of these animals/--No doubt at all. btoppage caused by this accumulation of stuff. . 13 'Have you noticed any of the cows when they have been brought m to milk with this slut adhering to theii mouths/—Yes, in a regular cake: and the horses' hair round their mouths hail little balls rolled up in it. 14. Have you yourself taken that stuff off ?—Yes. 15. For how long past have you noticed this accumulation of stuff in the animals mouths/— .lust this last big flood 1 noticed it particularly. I refer to the March flood. Hi. Previous t„ live or six years ago did you notice any of that accumulation round the mouths of your cows/ —No. ' . 17. Mr. Clendon.] How many other calves had you at the time these calves died/—About a ' t 'lB. Only two of them were affected?—We onlj opened two. We opened them directly they ' 19. In what part of the body did you find the lumps /—ln the stomach or bowels. •20. What was the composition of it /—Coarse grass, and silt mixed with it. 21. Any slimes?—lt is what is deposited there at present. 22 Was there anything injurious in the lumps, as far as you know /—I could not say that. 23. How do you know what caused the death of those calves?—l reckoned it was stoppage caused by these lumps. . , 24. Did you notice any signs of inflammation about the bowels?— They did not have the us. of their bowel's. We tried to doctor the last one that died. 25 There has been silt on your hand for some years? Yes. 26. Why has il no, affected your cattle in previous years/-We have lost some ,n previous years, but we have never examined them. , . , , v ' 27. Bave you heard of any other people losing cattle from the same cause J-^o 28. Mr. Mueller.] V,„, have noticed the horses and cows have had this stub deposited around their mouths, as well as the young stock /—Yes. Stephen Fisher examined. (No. 17.) I. Mr. Mueller.] Your name is Stephen Fisher, and you are a dairy-farmer residing at Net l , ' t YolTolm'344 acres of land/-Yes : part of the Te Arawakapekapeka Block Nos. 1 and 2. and part of Kaikahu No. 4. It is below the creamery. 3. That is all agricultural land/ —Yes. I You suddly milk to the Netherton creamery ?—Yes. I', oi thai 'il acres, how much has been flooded/-The whole „f it was fl led ,n 1901 except ■_' acres. ~ , a . , 0 How Ion" have you been in the district / — Sixteen years. 7' And previous to 1907 was that land subject to floods/ No, ,„ my tune. 8. In January, 1907, there was a large flood?— Yes. . 9 The water remained on your land for how long?—tor about three weeks. 10 In SeDtember of last year there was another flood ?—Yes. 1, How lunch land did that 11 1 cover /-About 250 acres of my land, and it remained on thel^ d Thetmagirthe ,907 flood-did that destroy grass on your 1 1? Yes, it destroyed 1/-Yes. following on "v" iVi--.:;;'^^: 1 ::!: ;;V;:;';;:;:; -v\;;:;-^;-■■; 1 l: l ;; t t n.., thal .plough and rcsow the 1 1 after that ,1 I- About ,5 -res. and 1 surf an -re did that cost you/ Quite .2 an acre. Grass-seed was very dear at the time. The reploughiug and resowing cost about L4OO.