69

I.—Ba.

72. You have given considerable evidence about canning fruit: is it not practical to dry fruit. for export? —Yes. 73. Is the fig produced here ?—Yes. I believe all tinned and bottled fruit now imported could be produced in New Zealand. 74. Could you particularise any of the tropical fruit?— Lemons, oranges, persimmons, and many other Japanese fruits introduced lately, but have not advanced enough to show whether they are profitable or not. The nurserymen are introducing new kinds every year. But the nurserymen are under this disadvantage : that the new kinds introduced are hard to sell. That is why I would like to see the Government establish a small nursery for the express purpose of introducing and acclimatising semi-tropical fruit-trees. They would require to have it under the control of some man who had the necessary knowledge of the whole subject. 75. Mr. Massey.] Can you tell whether the Government experts visit Whangarei regularly?— Yes, I think so, at regular intervals. I have seen them several times. lam told the fruit-growers there do not attach much importance to their visits. 76. Are the visits well received by the settlers?— Well, the settlers are always telling me that they do net attach much importance to their visits. 77. Then you think the visits of the experts are of no value ?—Not to the old fruit-growers. I believe there are districts where they can be of use. I have no doubt they can be useful in many parts of the colony, but not to any old orchardists. 78. Do you know Mr. Blackmore?—l have seen him once at Whangarei, a few months ago. 79. Was Mr. Blackmore in business at Whangarei as a fruit-grower?—lf so, it must have been •over thirty years ago. I have never known him there. 80. In your statement you said that if this Bill became law we would be placing power in the hands of men not capable of administering it ?—I refer to the present so-called fruit experts. Mr. Palmer and Mr. Blackmore I have met. 81. You say your constituents are opposed to it ?—Yes, strongly opposed to it. 82. Would you tell why?—-The great objection is in the proposed powers to be given to the experts. The Bill, if passed, would practically place the whole of the fruit-growers at the mercy of the Inspectors, and the experts, probably with the best intentions, would order them to ■do all sorts of things to the trees and do no benefit whatever. I believe myself that if the Government could secure the services of a good fruit expert, who could go round and give them lectures it would be the best thing. I notice the Victorian Government has sent their cadets round with drying-machines, and I have seen them at work in the exhibition at Melbourne. I consider the Victorian Agricultural Department have worked up the thing most creditably in that way. I would strongly suggest the Government here do something of the same kind, and secure the services of a really good expert who could give the fruit-growers that class of information they are in need of at present, especially as in the fruit season here a large portion goes to waste and cannot be consumed. But if they had sufficient expert knowledge, then they could bottle it or tin it, and the fruit-growing , business would become more valuable. That is where I think the Government have failed to grasp the situation—in not securing the services ■of a first-class man to place all that class of information before the fruit-growers. 83. Mr. Wason.] Your district is exempted from a portion the Bill?— Practically not; Ido not consider it is. The Orders in Council overrule everything. 84. Would you have any objection to the passing of the Bill if that was made perfectly clear? —Of course, if you made the Bill not to apply to the Province of Auckland at all, then the fruitgrowers would not have anything to say against it. 85. If the people were not allowed to send out diseased fruit, and if power was given to the Inspectors to destroy diseased fruit, would you approve of that ?—I would. I have seen apples offered for sale not fit for pigs. 86. Does not the Bill provide for that—the Bill only applies to the Auckland Province in that it cannot send away diseased fruit ? —lf the sale of diseased fruit is prohibited it must be enforced in all parts of the colony. It is very easy to make that perfectly clear in the Bill. 87. Is not that practically effected in the Bill ?—I do not think so. 88. Did you say that the majority of people whom you represent are not desirous of sending out diseased fruit ?—I would not like to say that. I was only expressing my own opinion. I believe there are some fruit-growers who would not hesitate to send diseased fruit out. At the same time, I do not think it ought to be allowed. 89. Are there any industries in Auckland to provide for the fruit ?—A lot of the fruit is made into jam-pulp. 90. And cider ?— Yes, a lot of it goes into cider. 91. Are there any cider-manufacturers there ?—A few of the orchardists now have cider-mills and crush the apples on their own place, and if you prohibited the sale of codlin-moth apples they would convert them into cider on their own orchards. 92. You say that the codlin-moth only attacks the early apples ?—lt attacks them worse than the others. 93. You heard Mr. Monk say that they sent the codlin-moth away in the winter apples? —No; it is mostly in the early apples. 94. You have no canning-works ?—No. 95. Are there any works in Auckland for the evaporation of fruit ?—No. They have started a factory there lately, but a very small affair. That is just our trouble in the regular fruit season. A large quantity of it goes to waste through having no means of canning it. 96. You would be in favour of having a thorough expert. Can you say of your own knowledge that the present men are not experts? —It is a difficult thing to say what an expert means. My own experience was that after talking to them they gave me the impression that they