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(6) We view with concern the effect which increased loading limits on the new improved roads will have on the back-country roads and bridges. The policy of the Commissioner of Transport appears to be to permit increased loading. Many of these trucks leave the main highways and travel up county roads which are not built to take the heavy axle loads permitted on the new highways. We think that a problem of considerable difficulty may arise in the future if the present policy of raising the loadingcapacity of improved highways and raising the permissible axleloads should be continued without taking adequate steps to improve the back or county roads to the same extent. Obviously the cost of improving the county roads cannot be loaded on to the ratepayers of the counties, and it will be necessary either to reduce permissible axle-loads or to provide very considerable grants for back or county roads to bring them up to the standards for which the Commissioner of Transport has been approving axle loads. There must be the fullest co-operation between the Commissioner of Transport, who has to enforce loading limits, and the Main Highways Board, which has to maintain the roads. We would suggest that the Commissioner should always lay his recommendation for axle-loading limits before the Main Highways Board for approval in order to ensure correlation of activities before putting such limits into effect. The Commissioner would have a very difficult task in preventing heavily-loaded vehicles from running on roads with lighter load-limits. Unloading or partial unloading before travelling on the lighter limit roads is not only difficult for the carriers to carry out, but, we fear, also would increase costs and would need a constant policing, which might not be practicable. The best policy seems to be co-operation in fixing mutually agreed axle-load limits. 4. SNOW LOSSES IN HIGH COUNTRY In our first interim report we said We have also considered evidence placed before us in regard to losses in high countryareas largely arising from snow risks. We believe that the tussock grasslands of the South Island form an important part of the sheep industry and that the high-country farmer cannot be expected to continue farming his land under conditions which give him little prospect of continued security. The insecurity arises partially from the losses due to the heavy snows which come periodically in hard winters. It is known that in the years of such snows some farmers will face heavy losses of stock. These losses are reflected in either (a) heavy financial outlay to replace lost stock in the comparatively rare instances where replacements are available, or (6) diminished returns or even recurring financial losses over a few years until he can breed his flock up again. We are of the opinion that a high-country farmer liable to snow risk should be able to offset his losses by setting aside some of his profits in good years in order to minimize insecurity arising from snow losses. To enable this to be done we recommend:— (1) That the High Country Committee of Federated Farmers and the DirectorGeneral of Agriculture should, upon application, draw up a list of the highcountry farmers liable to suffer snow losses of sufficient magnitude to warrant assistance, and that such list, when agreed upon, should be submitted to the Commissioner of Taxes and the Director-General of the Post and Telegraph Department. (2) That the farmers on such list should be enabled to open a special Snow Losses Reserve Account in the Post Office Savings-bank, and be authorized to pay into such account at any time such sums as they deem desirable, provided that the total of the account should not at any time exceed 10s. per sheep as returned at 30th April nearest to the date of authorization. (3) That such accounts should receive ordinary savings-bank interest.