will be a standing disgrace to the State. Any fair-minded man coming down here could satisfy himself in half a day that the whole thing is a mistake. You will see the drainage channels running chains away from where the water is.

10398. As an orchardist, will you express an opinion as to what the average price of oranges has been in this district for the past five years?—In 1912 my first year, I averaged on the platform 9s. a case. Since then the price has gradually come down, and this year I doubt whether I will average 4s. That is not a remunerative price. The lowest point at which I can sell oranges in a large way is 6s. or 7s. The older the trees get the more fertiliser is required. I regard the position at Harvey just now as most precarious, and when Mr George was here recently I told him that 75 per cent. of the settlers at Harvey were not in a position to pay the rate.

10399. By Mr CLARKSON: You said just now that the water was delivered to the highest point on the boundary, and not to the highest point on the blocks. Is the scheme at present in force capable of delivering to the highest point in the centre of the block?—I should not say it was with the system of open channels. That would require a pipe system.

10400. By the CHAIRMAN: The scheme seems to be therefore generally unsatisfactory?—As it stands to-day it is an utter failure, and I cannot too strongly emphasise that fact.

10401. BY Mr CLARKSON: What is your opinion of the land which has been set apart for repatriation purposes? Is it, in your opinion, the most suitable area of land which could have been found in this vicinity on which to settle soldiers?—I should say it is not, and I should be very sorry to see anyone settle on that land. I will do all in my power to prevent it. I have not been over the whole of the 640 acres, but what I have seen is second and third class land, and it will require the expenditure of a big sum of money, and will need tile draining. Then the land will require breakwinds for shelter. The gully winds, which travel at the rate, at times, of 50 or 60 miles an hour, and which come along in the summer, sweep over it, and in winter we get north and north-westerly gales there. The land should be tile drained and planted with breakwinds.

10402. By the CHAIRMAN: Have you had any experience of orchard cultivation elsewhere?—No.

10403. By Mr PAYNTER: Are the methods generally employed here up to date?—In some cases yes, in other cases no. It very soon tells the tale. You cannot afford to let a block go for a season without proper cultivation.

10404. By the CHAIRMAN: What amount of fertiliser is it necessary to use to maintain eight or nine year old trees?—About a ton per acre, and that of the best. The cost of that would be £8 10s., plus railage.

(The witness retired.)

FRANCIS JOSEPH BECHER, Orchardist, sworn and examined:

10405. To the CHAIRMAN: I am a director of the Associated Fruitgrowers and Producers' Markets, and a director of the jam factory. I am also on of the proposed directors of the new fruit distributing scheme for the coming season. What I desire to bring under the notice of the Commission is the failure of the irrigation scheme. That failure is not through any fault of ours. When the scheme was first mooted, Mr Mitchell was then Minister for Lands. Nothing was done until the Labour Government came into power. The work of constructing the scheme was then used for the purposes of making some political capital, and when the Rights in Water and Irrigation Bill was before Parliament, a big gang of men was sent down here to start operations. No plans had been prepared and, as a matter of fact, the men were working on top of the survey which had not been completed. The work which was then done was practically all scrapped. The Act provides that, before the Minister can go on with the irrigation scheme, full plans and specifications have to be drawn up and deposited in his office where anyone can inspect them. When the scheme was submitted to is the extent of the plans was a litho., with the channels marked on it in blue pencil. We certainly had specifications before us, but the Minister, instead of making us go up to inspect the plans, arranged a meeting down here, so that the scheme might be discussed. At that meeting we most emphatically pointed out that we considered the irrigation scheme here with open channels would be a failure, and the reason we did that was that some of us had had previous experience. I considered that I knew what I was talking about. Nothing much was done, but Mr Johnson, who was then Minister, agreed to have a pipe scheme prepared and an open channel scheme prepared and both submitted to us, so that we might decide which to adopt. When the scheme was again put before us, all we had in the way of a pipe scheme was the engineer telling us that a pipe scheme would cost £80,000, which would be exclusive of the weir, which was estimated to cost another £21,000. There was nothing put before us to show how those figures we arrived at. In the present scheme there was provision made for the expenditure of £2,800 for lining the channels with concrete, if necessary. There was also provision for about 2½ miles of concrete pipes, and one of the river channels was to be piped right through. After discussion, the local committee decided to recommend the settlers to approve of the open channel scheme with the pipes as provided, because it was considered that would do away, to a large extent, with the seepage. The settlers approved the scheme on those lines. What happened afterwards? The engineers found out that they could not work these concrete pipes. The idea was to put concrete pipes through certain sections. they were provided with a stand pipe at the lower end, and it was reckoned that they would get a pressure on to each row of trees, and they would put a concrete riser at each row of trees. I think Mr Oldham must have read of this in some American magazine; at any rate it was found that it would not work. The local committee was not called together again. The department then went to the individual grower, most of whom knew nothing at all about irrigation. These individual growers were told that concrete pipes would not work, and consent to depart from the scheme obtained from most of them; but the first the original committee knew of the alteration was when they saw the work being carried out. We have approached the Government, but we have never been able to get any satisfaction, and, although