dreds of them that had bored right into the core of fruit. I have also known them attack such vegetables as turnips. Weevils will tackle almost any produce under the conditions of stress which I have mentioned. I asked Messrs Sutton, Pearse and Lord whether it was necessary to duplicate the information I had already obtained. However, the Railway Department themselves put away a case of fruit with weevils; and it was brought to me and opened in the presence of the three gentlemen, and we found that the weevils had bored right into the fruit. That was a second demonstration. Therefore, it was not necessary for me to make any further experiments. Then I immediately put up a scheme and drew rough plans, and submitted the scheme and the plans to the Commissioner for the Wheat Belt, through whom I submit my reports on wheat pests. This was on the 24th September. Since then I have heard nothing official concerning the matter. Whether the Public Works Department have my report and plans, or what has happened to my proposal, I do not know. The matter was then, however, regarded as urgent : The Railway Department have written asking me what has been done. I could not undertake further experiments on a large scale as to killing weevils in railway trucks, because I was not in the position to know whether the Public works Department and the Wheat Scheme had accepted the proposal I had submitted. Roughly, I take it, the expenditure involved would be about £120 per each depot. The plan I suggested was to build a sub-concrete tank, or the tank might be of brick or other material as recommended by experts in that class of work. The sub-tank would be placed in such a position that a double pair of rails could be run across it, on which rails the trucks would be pushed. Let into the base of the big tank would be a small tank, which would contain the spraying material. A small pump was to be supplied, of about 3 horse power, with a small motor engine to drive it. The man operating the apparatus would have to be supplied with a proper suit and mask for the face, in the same way as the man who paints railway trucks at Midland Junction by means of a power machine. The depth of the sub-tank would be such that the man operating could stand upright, and would not have to crawl in order to get underneath the truck for the purpose of treating the underside. It is most essential that the underside of the truck should be treated, because it is there one finds many weevils collected, to keep out of the way of the hot sun. The weevil, as you know, cannot stand a high temperature; anything over 120 or 130 degrees quickly destroys weevil. Consequently the weevils crawl through the cracks of the trucks to the under side, and there they hang until such time as a product suitable for feeding on is placed in the truck—wheat, or fruit, or something else. Without a sub-tank the man would not, perhaps, pay sufficient attention to the under side of the truck, if he had to drench it with a hose, because it would mean getting into a cramped position lying on his back underneath the truck. To treat the under side in this fashion would be hard and dirty work. The sub-tank would be on the principle of a sheep dip tank. Economy will be effected by re-collecting the spraying material. The tank would be roofed over with the cheapest possible roofing, jarrah weatherboards, or perhaps malthoid. The roof would give shade and shelter to the man, and also prevent evaporation of the spraying materials, which would probably contain a good deal of volatile matter, and therefore would be readily lost by heat. shade conditions would obviate that loss. The top of the well would be screened in order to prevent probably thousands of weevils, which would be washed down, from falling into the well and stuffing up the pump ; and similarly as regards any foreign matter in the truck. I put up this scheme as against the scheme of utilisation of heat. It was proposed to build chambers into which the trucks would be pushed and treated by heat for the destruction of weevil. Heat, if workable, is no doubt the treatment ; but I fail to see that it can prove as cheap as the means I suggest.

8337. Every time the door of the Chamber is opened the heat is lost?—Exactly.

8338. Do you suggest any specific to be used in connection with your scheme?—I have two or three specifics, which in small experiments have proved most effective in destroying weevil.

8339. Those specifics would do no harm to the truck?—No harm whatever to any portion of the truck.

8340. By Mr HARRISON : You do not think the specifics would effect any food products put into the truck later?—No, I think not. Owing to their volatile nature, the specifics would completely disappear within 48 hours. That has been the stumbling block, I may say, where a purely tar oil preparation has been used.

8341. Would the specifics have any injurious effect on the iron work or on the bearings of the truck?—Not in the least.

8342. By the CHAIRMAN : Are you aware that an apple was brought up some time ago from Albany, which apple the man in charge of the Government cool storage there said had been attacked by weevil? That apple was delivered to your office?—Your Secretary, Mr McCartney, discussed the matter with me; and I was able to confirm that the apple had been attacked by weevil, but not while the apple was in cool storage.

8343. Those apples had been attacked before they went into cool storage?—Yes.

8344. All the fruit what was attacked became rotten in the cool store?—Exactly. Directly you break the skin of the apple you break its natural protection.

8345. the number of rotten apples that we saw led us to conclude that it was a serious matter?—It is a serious matter. It is about eight weeks since Mr Robinson wrote about it urgently, and I lost no time in putting in the plans.

8346. Are you satisfied that the specific which you have had submitted will kill weevil in the trucks without doing any damage to the trucks or to the goods put into those trucks afterwards?—I am sure about that, but would like experiments on a large scale carried out.

8347. You cannot do anything now: at any rate not until the other department deals with it?—that is the position.

8348. By Mr HARRISON : Have you any idea of the cost of treating a truck with this solution?—I have not worked it out. If we treated a big truck we would know what quantity of solution would be required. We would have a tank below to collect the solution, otherwise we would lose it on the ground. The trucks vary considerably in size. There was some thought that certain trucks with hollow walls could not be treated because the weevil would get in between the walls. I find, however, that the boards are screwed on, and by removing a board here and there the truck can be successfully sprayed. I have never found weevil behind the first wall of the truck. If they did get there it would be so hot on account of the sun playing on the outer wall, that they would be practically roasted out.

8349. By Mr BROWN : After the truck had been cleaned and sent into the country to bring in another load of wheat it would have to be cleaned again?—Yes, if infested with weevil.

8350. By the CHAIRMAN : It means that they will have to keep special trucks for handling weevil wheat?—That is what I said long ago, but the railways declared it was not feasible.

8351. By Mr HARRISON : Do you consider that the weevil menace is sufficiently dangerous to warrant the taking of these extraordinary measures for its extermination?—Not only the weevil, but the borer menace is sufficiently serious to justify what I propose. We do not want to cart the boxer into the country, and unless we treat our trucks we will not know what we will be taking inland. Of course the removal of the wheat will alter the whole face of things, and reduce the weevil menace, but we want to try to prevent the new season's wheat getting infected.

8352. Even getting the wheat away will not relieve the position in the country if the borer gets there?—It will reduce the breeding of these pests. I regard the railway truck as the greatest menace we have in the spread of insect pests. If the new season's wheat is going to be carried in weevil infested trucks, we infest immediately the clean wheat. How then are we going to keep the pests out of the stacks? Prevention is worth far more than any other treatment in keeping this season's wheat clean. My experiments have shown definitely that in the field there is no weevil.

8353. By the CHAIRMAN: But there will be if something is not done to stop it?—The borer, not the weevil. Of course to the layman, all beetles in grain are weevil, but entomologically they are not. The borer is a round-headed insect, and has no snout, as the true weevil.

8354. South Australia does not appear to have it?—Yes. It is mentioned in their report as the second worst pest. It will be our primary one if we do not stop it. There are four sets of conditions under which weevil must be attacked by the Wheat Scheme, namely, in the stacks, in the railway trucks, in old dunnage and old sites. In this State we have carried out practically no experimental work in the stacks, other than cutting out, gristing, and re-conditioning.

8355. Has the Scheme kept in touch with you in the direction of preventing the spread of the pest?—The only trip I have had was the one to Geraldton.

8356. Personally, I hold the opinion that they consider this is an engineer's job?—It is a combined job. We need the engineer; we must have an analyst, a chemist, an entomologist and wheat experts.