1.—12 a.

J. L. BRUCE.]

9

The Chairman: Do you desire to ask any questions, Mr. Lang? 43. Mr. Lang.] I understand that the regulations were framed to protect the consumer?— Yes. 44. Do you not think that the consumer should pay the registration fee?—I do not. 45. It is the consumer who derives the benefit?— What is of benefit to the dairy industry must of necessity be of benefit to the suppliers. 46. I see there are certain fees charged—registration fees—and why the fee should fall on the dairyman is the point. You say that the regulations are framed to protect the consumer?— That is so, but, speaking personally as a consumer, and not as a supplier, my personal experience is that the supplier is very well paid for his products. Milk is sold by the pint in Dunedin at the rate of Is. 4d. per gallon, and by the quart at the rate of Is. a gallon. I think, therefore, that the producer ought to be quite in a position to pay a small fee.

Friday, 18th September, 1908. John Parlane, Cashmere, Christchurch, examined. (No. 3.) Witness: I congratulate the Minister and the Department on the attempt they have made to deal with this rather difficult matter. There are not many things we take exception to, but a few things require alteration. We can fall in with the regulations till we get to section 8, paragraph (c), " The floor of every cowshed shall be of an even surface, and formed of concrete or other material impervious to water. A suitable gutter shall be provided, and connected with the outletdrain." We are not quite sure what that "even surface" means. An even surface may be a perfectly level or a smooth surface. It does not say which. We think the floor should have a slope. If thoroughly even the cow cannot get a hold, and is apt to slip. We would like it like this: " The floor of every cowshed shall be floored with concrete or some solid material constructed with sufficient slope to give efficient drainage." In paragraph (h), "No cowshed or building where cows are kept, or milking-yard or stockyard used in connection with the milking of cows shall be within thirty feet of any stable, fowlhouse, fowl-run, calf-pen, trough from which calves are fed, manure-heap, cesspool, closet, urinal, or liquid-manure tank, or within fifty yards of any piggery." The " milking-yard "is put in in such a way that we can hardly understand it. It says earlier in the regulations that every dairy shall be provided with a suitable cowshed; then a milking-yard. We do not know what a milking-yard is. Then it says a stockyard must not be within 30ft. of a stable. We wish to make this point: There are a great many places which have been brought pretty well up to date with the last regulations, and the stables are adjoining the stockyard. It would cause a certain amount of hardship if a man had to shift the whole of his stables. No exception would be taken if it was said the milking-shed had to be 30 ft. away from the stables; that would be sufficient. In one place it says the whole of the premises must be kept clean, and that, of course, would apply to the stables. We think the new requirement may cause a certain amount of hardship. We are quite willing such a provision should apply in connection with any new premises. In paragraph (j) it says, "No cowshed shall be within thirty feet of any dwellinghouse. Unfortunately, in our district there are a great many dwellinghouses within 20 ft., and good sheds, well floored with concrete, model places in every way, and it would be a great hardship if the sheds in these cases had to be shifted. It would mean the shifting of the whole of the buildings. We have no objection to the regulation applying in the case of new premises. Then, again, subsection (1) of paragraph (k) says, "A yard sufficiently large to hold all the cows brought in at any one time for milking, attached thereto, but divided therefrom by a partition or fence, the floor of such yard to be properly concreted or paved." We do not quite understood what " properly " means. Who is to give us a definition of " properly "? Is it left entirely to the satisfaction of the Inspector, or what is to be considered a properly paved stockyard ? Is it to be paved with bricks, with concrete, or with stone? Then, there is another thing in part of paragraph (k) which provides for a race: We think that if the yard is divided with a closely boarded fence, at least 6 ft. high in the case of open sheds, between the stockyard and the shed, it should be sufficient—that is, provided the stockyard is floored in a reasonable way. In (I) it says "properly constructed." We have no definition of what a properly constructed dairy is. The clause reads, " Every cowshed, milkhouse, or other building where milk is kept or stored shall be properly constructed, lighted, ventilated, cleansed, and drained ; and no such cowshed, milkhouse, or other building shall be connected by a covered drain with any liquid-manure tank or other place into which any offensive matter is discharged, or with any sewer, unless such drain or sewer is properly constructed, trapped, and ventilated." I think if the word " properly " is put in we should have a definition. Section 9 says, " Every dairyman shall notify the Inspector at least fourteen days before commencing to make any structural alterations in or about his dairj' premises, and shall in such notice give brief particulars of the proposed alterations." We think that is hardly necessary. "Dairy premises," in the first part of the regulations, says that a dairy includes " farm, stockyard, or stable." If that is allowed to stand, and if we are going to make any structural alterations in any of the buildings, we should have to send to the Inspector. We object to that particular part. We are satisfied with everything else down to section 14: " Every dairyman shall, immediately after milking, (a) strain all milk through an approved strainer." That is all right. " (6) Where the milk is not immediately separated, cool it by a method approved by the Inspector." We think there should be a method generally approved by the Department; a standard method and a fixed temperature that the milk should be cooled down to. An Inspector may come and say, "It is not cooled down to my satisfaction." If we had a thermometer, and showed it was down to 65°, it would end there. It should be stated, as in the old regulations, that the milk should be cooled down to 65°. Section 18 says, "No dairyman

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