in the Eastern States has to go through what we have to here, and if there is any prospect of a factory becoming successful the capital can easily be found. We have got over the initial difficulty, and we have a factory in which we have approximately £3,000 worth of machinery, and having done that, I do not see why we should not be successful. The question of tin plates is a difficult one, but we are in the same position as all manufacturers in the Commonwealth. The question of competition is one we are likely to do away with, but it is a matter that every business has to deal with. As this business grows and we are able to install the same up-to-date machinery as they have in the Eastern States, we shall be able to more than hold our own with the Eastern States.

10226. Is the quality of the jam equal to that produced in the Eastern States?—I say it is better, for the reason that we have had consumers coming back asking for our jams in preference to the Eastern States jam.

10227. By Mr. PAYNTER: What is the output of your factory?—We are doing a turnover of over £1,000 a month.

10228. How much do you manufacture?—We have manufactured three-quarters of a million pounds of fresh fruits this season.

10229. By Mr. VENN: You buy fruit in the market?—We aim at buying direct from the grower.

10230. You do not rely on gluts in the markets?—This season we could not go to the grower direct. We started to buy from the grower, but the grower must know what you want. In our operations this year we went to the markets, and gave them a buying limit of from 2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. a case, and that limit was never altered during the glut season. We could have bought fruit in our own markets at Christmas time at 1s. a case, but our limit was 2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. according to quality, and that was adhered to throughout the season.

10231. By Mr. PAYNTER : What percentage of fruits produced in Western Australia is suitable for jam?—Taking a case of jam containing 48 tins, four tins are made form berry pulp from the Eastern States.

10232. I mean of the varieties produced and coming into the market, what percentage is suitable for jam?—It is a hard thing to answer that offhand. I should say 60 per cent. of the soft fruits coming in are suitable for jam making.

10233. If a producer is raising fruit for jam he has to put in different kinds?—I should say 60 per cent. of the fruit coming into the market.

10234. Are you able to keep your factory going all the year round?—Yes. During the busy manufacturing period we had 60 hands and we the put down fruit sufficient to do for 18 months or two years, on an estimated turnover, but we found our turnover exceeded, but we shall be able to put down an extra quantity of fruit next year. In the off season 20 hands are employed. One of the matters touched on by a witness on Tuesday was the question of pulping fruit. This witness, while advocating pulping as a likely means of getting rid of the surplus fruit, deprecated the idea of making jam. If our fruit is not good enough to make jam it is not good enough for pulp to send to the Eastern States for jam-making purposes. We do not consider the pulping of fruit provides a sure return, because the market is too precarious. The only fruit we can pulp with safety is figs, which is not produced to any extent in the Eastern States, but the other fruits, plums, peaches, and apricots, we have tried every factory in the Eastern States this season to get rid of our pulp, but it is impossible. These two States are self-supporting, and in good seasons they pay up to £4 10s. for good fruit. I think a factory could be established here in Western Australia and rely on the surplus pulps produced in Victoria and Tasmania.

10235. By Mr. VENN: Have you done anything in the way of evaporating?—Nothing, except currants.

10236. Do you think it can be done?—I think it is essential.

10237. Should that evaporation be done on the orchards?—I do not see any other way of doing it for the time being. I have had no experience in drying, but have had reports from some of our directors who have been to the other States inquiring into the matter. It seems that to put the thing on a proper basis it requires a plant which costs anything up to £3,000 or £4,000 for a factory. Such a factory could only afford to pay from 1s. to 1s. 6d. for 40lbs. of apples, which would not, of course, pay for the grower. If the grower had a drying plant on his orchard and made use of the fruit which otherwise would be wasted it would pay him. The chief disability is to get some uniformity in packing. I think the system of central packing sheds such as we are working on now in connection with fresh fruit would overcome that disability. In regard to pulping, it is the policy of this company to establish district pulping plants, to avoid bringing the soft fruit over the line, turning it into pulp on the spot and sending it down to the central factory for manufacture of jams. Pulping plants are not expensive and one to suit Bridgetown could be put up for £400 or £500. We are aiming at preventing the concentration of supplies of soft fruits in Perth and turning them into pulp in the districts in which the fruit is grown. With a good man in charge there is every reason to think that the system will prove successful.

10238. By Mr. PAYNTER: Do you find the export price for pulp a payable one?—It is payable in the case of fig pulp. The Eastern States manufacturers are keen buyers. We pay £8 a ton to the grower for figs delivered at our factory. We had 100 tons this season and we certainly made a profit.

10239. By Mr. VENN: How much a ton do you pay for stone fruit?—From £6 to £10 a ton, according to the quality. We find that there is a good market for fig pulp in the Eastern States at a price which leaves us a fair profit. These are considerable risks attendant on the export of pulp. In selling to the Eastern States we have to take the risk of tins blowing, and sometimes with small shipments and the handling they get on the boats, we have had a loss of up to 20 per cent., which has to be provided for. It would be foolish to go in for pulping with the idea of expecting to export it, because the market is a precarious one. We have tried it, and I know exactly what the position is. The only pulp we can produce and ship from Western Australia is fig pulp. Most of our supplies of figs come from Pinjarra and Armadale, but we have drawn more from Pinjarra than from any other district. The figs are picked at such a stage as to reach the factory when ripe. It is no use having them dead ripe, for they