61

1.—12 a.

A. MCFARLANE."]

again, "on receipt of such application may issue a transfer." A fee of 2s. 6d. is charged for that. It is quite enough to be charged a registration fee without having to pay a transfer fee in the event of any one selling. Then, another clause deals with the fees for registration. It seems harder on the small man with ten cows to pay 55,, than on the man with a hundred cows to pay 10s. I think when this was referred to at Palmerston it was mentioned that ss. would be all that was necessary. In a factory like ours it would mean ,£IOO a year for registration fees alone, a big handicap on the farmer. Then, in the clause dealing with the floor of the cowshed, the question is, what is a material impervious to moisture? Some farmers who cannot get metal within twenty to twenty-five miles have a good floor laid down with concrete. You could not say that floor was impervious to moisture. It would be left to the Inspector, I suppose. It is laid down that the inside of the cowshed shall be whitewashed twice a year. The times stated are not at all suitable. January especially is a very busy time with the farmer. The regulation might say once a year, and leave the date open. Then there is a regulation which says that the manure shall be removed 30 ft. away within two hours after milking. In some cases the farmer and his wife do the milking. The husband has to take the milk to the factory, and the wife has to get the breakfast. Perhaps the man is not back for over two hours. In the evening milking is not concluded till after dark. If the regulation said cleaning once a day it would be sufficient. A regulation says that the milk house or stand must be 30 ft. away from the shed. If " collected " was struck out it would not have the same effect. " Collected " means having a platform just outside the shed, on which you strain your milk into the cans, and take these away to the milkstand. In wet or windy weather having to carry the cans 30 ft. away would be a hardship on the man milking; but if " collected " was struck out it would enable him to empty his milk into the cans and then cart it to the milk-stand. A yard must be provided sufficiently large to hold all the cows brought in at the one time, the yard to be concreted or paved. If there is a yard concreted or paved, what is the necessity to have it fenced off between the shed and the yard? Then, there must be a yard of such dimensions as aforesaid situated at least 30 ft. from such cowshed, and connected therewith b)r a race, the floor of which is properly concreted or paved. I have never seen a race, but it seems to me that if you have a big crowd of cows it would take three times as long driving them through the race as bringing them in from a concrete yard adjacent to the shed. Then, " every dairyman shall notify the Inspector before commencing to make structural alterations." I think most dairymen who have been at the business for the last ten, fifteen, or twenty years will, when they are going to build a shed, do so with the object of trying to better the work they are doing. He should be able to build one quite as well as the Inspector. The clause referring to the method of cleaning the cans and where they shall be cleaned is impracticable. Ido not think there are many dairymen who have the steam for scalding the cans. This overlaps somewhat the regulation that says the cans must be cleaned to the satisfaction of the Inspector. As long as your can is clean, what does it matter? At our factory we provide hot water and a steam jet for the suppliers. Then, on being taken home the cans are only cleaned with cold water. Then, in regard to cleaning buckets and cans used in milking within two hours, I do not think this is necessary in any way. A great many clean as soon as possible, but it may happen that they could not do it within the time specified. The " rust " clause is also unnecessary. You may have a can in use for two or three months and it may not show rust. It may get a bit of a scrape and the rust will at once show. This could be altered to " properly soldered and in a fit state of repair." Requiring the name on cans should not, I think, apply to the factory-supply. Ido not see where the necessity for it comes in. It should only apply to the town trade. The same thing applies to requiring the name on the cart. The keeping of cows or calves 30 ft. away from the shed would have little effect in improving conditions. Then, the cart must not be used for other purposes specified. In our district the majority of suppliers, especially the smaller ones, have only one cart, and under the regulation, if they wanted to take a calf or dressed pig to the station, a matter of two or three miles, they would have to get another cart. Why should a man be debarred from carting pork as long as he keeps his cans in good order? 1. Mr. Okey.] You are a supplier to a factory?— Yes. 2. Do you think a fee of 2s. 6d. for ten cows and less, and ss. above that number, would be sufficient?— That would be quite sufficient. 3. Do you think the farmer should pay a fee?— No. 4. Where a transfer of a farm takes place, do you think the registration should go with the farm, and that there should be no transfer fee in that case?— Yes. 5. Do you think that timber would be suitable for flooring where gravel or concrete is not to be got in the vicinity?—l think that, where they cannot get metal to make cement, timber would be sufficient, especially where the boards are placed close together. 6. Have you had experience as director of a dairy factory? —Yes. 7. What is your experience of the power given the factory-manager?—l may say their instructions are to refuse any one's milk if it is unsuitable for making good butter. We give the manager a premium for turning out a first-grade butter, which is an incentive to him. It does not matter whether a director or not brings bad milk, it is refused. 8. Have you known a manager lose his position by sending back the chairman's milk?—No, 1 have never heard of it. 9. You think some of the regulations would be a hardship?— Yes, whitewashing sheds, &o. 10. If these pinpricks were taken out, would the regulations be satisfactory?— Yes. The principal thing is to have a shed either concreted or boarded. If you had 12 ft. from the shed concreted you would allow the cows to come to the shed in fairly good order. 11. Do you think it would be an assistance to the farmer if the Government had plans of the different sheds required to comply with the regulations attached to a copy of the regulations?— Yes, if they just pointed out improved methods. Fanners are generally on the lookout to improve.