47

H.—29

GliA [N-GKADING SERVICE. REPORT OF THE CHIEF GRAIN-GRADER. The Director-General. Christohuroh, 18th May, 1920. Herewith please find my annual reporl for the pear ended 31st March, 1920. A. W. Smith, Grain-grad"T 1 have to report that grain-grading as carried out by the licensed Graders during the past year has given satisfaction, and has proved of great benefit to those engaged in the trade. I am sure that the confidence placed in those' carrying out the grading duties will be maintained bo long aj the same unbiased and expert-attention is given to sampling as is done at pre: cut. Periodioil visits ol inspection have been paiel during the year to those ports where Graders are stationed, and I think that as the result ol my visits there is now a, more uniform interpretation of the standards on which the grading is being done. During the year arrangements were- made as regards plae-ing the grading facilities at Dunedin on a. much better footing. By payment of a retaining lee to Mr. J. Tipping by the Department, merchants in that town are assured that a Grader will always be available when required, A request was received from the; Gore merchants that a resident Grader be appointed there. In the past- Gore merchants have at times sent, down to Blufi in good faith certain line's of oats which, when the Bluff Grader sampled the line, he found were not up ter the standard. As a result the trucks containing the erats were ordered back to store, which step incurred a, great deal of expense. Consequently the Gore Grain-brokers' Association thought that if a Grader was appointed at Gore he could sample the oats on the- truck and reject any not up to grade before the line was loaded. Although not altogether in favour of having Graders away from the shipping-ports, I visited Gore, and alter an interview with the president anel secretary of the local association I approved, as atrial, of the Con' nominee entering inter a working arrangement with Mr. McQuarrie, Graeier at the Bluff, whereby the former will be directly employed for this purpose by Mr. McQuarrie, the latter taking full responsibility for the, certificates issued. When the present season is finished I will be able to state if this step has been a success. During the year the New Zealand Government's purchase of wheat in Australia has continued to arrive in the Dominion, and a large, portion of my time has been taken up in sampling and distributing the' various cargoes. For the period covered by this report there arrived 1,255,362 bushels, anel the quality taken over all shipments was superior to the sample on which the contract was made. The sampling as carried out by Messrs. Davidson Bros, on the Australian side has been conscientiously done, and I have had practically no complaints to make on this score during the; year. My comments em those cargoes arriving previous to March, 1919, evidently had the effect erf tightening up the sampling, as millers are very well satisfied with the quality of the wheat that has arrived since. The' balance of the purchase of 4,000,000 bushels should all be landed in (he Dominion by .line. The arrangements whereby the licensed Graders act- as arbitrators for the Wheat Controller are still in existence, and during the past year their services were availed of in the case of disputes. At the request of the Wheat Controller 1 was transferred in October to the Wheat Control ()lfie;e fo understudy the duties of Assistant Wheat, Controller, and in January, on the resignation of the then Assistant Wheat Controller, Mr. W. S. Pratt, 1 was appointed to the position, such appointment being contingent on my still supervising the carrying-out of the grading by lioensed Graders. While in this position I will still be able to keep in close touch with the' Graders. The' grain trade is still working on the descriptions of the grades submitted to their association by me in October, 1918, but up to the present has not availed itself of the offer made by me on behalf of the Department to set up permanent standard samples. I still have hopes, however, that the request will sooner err later be made, and if it does eventuate I shall bring my best efforts to bear on the question, and am confident that a set of standards acceptable to all parties will be established.

Approximate Coat of Paper. —Preparation, not given ; printing (7, r >ii copies), £(i 7 10s.

Authority : Marcus F. Marks, Government Printer, Wellington. 1920

Price, Is.