McCormack's property belonged to King. Gee gets the trouble on this place and McCormack does not.

11477. By Mr. VENN: How long have you known of this trouble?—It existed 60 years ago. I remember when I was breeding Shropshire sheep I had a ram born in the wool which was fed on his mother. This ram developed "rickets" in the shed.

(The witness retired.)

WILLIAM BEATTIE GORDON, Phosphate Merchant, Gingin, sworn and examined:

11478. By the CHAIRMAN: I presume you have a statement to make the Commission?—I came with the idea of requesting the Commission to pay a visit to this deposit of fertiliser which I am working. On account of the statement by the Hon. the Premier that this country wanted 20,000 tons of lime yearly, I started prospecting, with the result that I discovered this deposit. It proved not only to contain carbonate of lime, but phosphate of lime and potash.

11479. What is the average analysis of this stuff?—At present I am guaranteeing 60 per cent. of carbonate of lime and two per cent. of phosphate. The assay in regard to potash I am not not guaranteeing, but according to the Government Analyst, the percentage of potash equals in value 5s. per ton. Underlying the limestone is copralite, which contains from 48 to 60 per cent. of phosphate of lime. This body is about eight inches in thickness. Under this again is glauconite sand, which assays three per cent. of potash. I have opened up this deposit and am selling this material on trucks at 12s. per ton, the people supplying their own bags.

11480. To Mr. PAYNTER: Practical tests have been carried out on clover lands and with orange trees and have given excellent results.

11481. By Mr. VENN: Are you receiving many orders?—Yes. I have not advertised it, preferring to wait until I have the necessary plant installed. This is on hand now and is being erected. At the present time I have orders for 120 tons. These are coming from all over the South-West and from the wheat belt. I have to cart it half a mile to the railway station. What I consider of even more importance than my property, is the possibility of finding phosphatic rock by boring, and proving the potash deposit at a greater depth.

11482. Do you consider this a dairying district?—I consider it one of the best districts in the State. You can grow anything you like here in the way of artificial crops. The best strip of country is Dewar's flats. For winter growth the herbage does wonderfully.

(The witness retired.)

WILLIAM JOSEPH HENRY HORAN, Fruit Grower, Gingin, sworn and examined:

11483. To the CHAIRMAN: I have held my land in this district for 12 or 13 years. I was the station-master here. I have 15 acres. My orchard which comprises five acres, is planted with oranges, principally Washington navels. The trees vary from 10 to 12 years old. I cannot say what the yield is as I leased my orchard for four years and before that it was too young. Last year was a bad one, and I only got 50 cases from 200 trees. I should say that the prospective crop this year is from six to eight cases to the tree. They are heavily laden. Last year was a poor one all round. My orchard operations, however, are not turning out a success. Our trouble is the want of a proper market. You can send your produce to Perth, but you can never get a fair price for it. Last year I sent tomatoes to the market and the highest price I got was 2s. per case and some as low as 1s. 3d., and tomatoes were selling in Midland Junction at 5d. a pound. The consumer does not get the benefit. I have six peach trees in my orchard. A Chinaman advised me that he was sending similar fruit to Perth and getting 30s. a case for them. I sent one dump case and one flat. The two cases of peaches were supposed to have been sold at 2s. 2d. on the grounds that the fruit was small and inferior. I therefore got 2s. 2d less 1s. 6d. for the cases, or 8d. for 90lbs. of peaches. I sent a third case home and received advice from my wife that they were paying 9d. a lb. for similar fruit. I am told that my oranges were considered the best fruit in the State. Dr Laver told me this. I wrote to Kalgoorlie to the fruit people there and advised I was sending them a consignment and asked to have them sampled before they were sold. I got back 4s. to 5s. per case less than they were quoted in the papers on the same day without any word as to the poor price. A lot of people have given up sending away fruit from here.

11484. What method of marketing would you suggest?—Something like the Tasmanian scheme. The fruit growers approached the Government and asked them to appoint certain men to control the market. They appointed one officer in the central market at £500 per annum, and then they appointed managers in New South Wales and Queensland to manage depots in those States. In this manner everything was pooled and the proceeds were distributed. I consider that something after this would be the scheme. If the Government had a depot in Perth with an officer who would put a price on the fruit, I think that it would ensure both grower and consumer getting the benefit. If there was a glut the officer would say that the fruit must go cheaply and even then the grower would be better off. If you send to the market on the newspaper quotations you can get nothing like the price. Hawkers advise that it pays them better to go into the market and buy than it does in those instances where they are growing the fruit themselves. I am advised that producers round Perth go into the markets and if their fruit does not fetch a price they distribute it themselves. The same applies to eggs.

(The witness retired.)

The Commission adjourned.