TUESDAY, 10th SEPTEMBER, 1918 (At Perth)

Present: Hon. W. C Angwin, MLA ( Chairman) Hon. J. F. Allen, M.L.C. Hon. R. G. Ardagh, M.L.C S. M. Brown, Esq., M.L.A T. H. Harrison, Esq., M. L. A.

FREDERICK CHARLES KEYS, recalled and further examined:

7124. By the CHAIRMAN: Have you any special arrangements with the Railway Department in regard to rates charged for hauling last year's wheat?—Yes, in regard to depôt wheat. In the ordinary course of events depôt wheat would incur two haulages, one from the receiving station to the depôt, and the other from the depôt to the port. Under our arrangement only one through haulage is charged, plus half a crown per ton extra.

7125. Do you pay anything special for haulage charges in respect of the sidings?—No, that is included in the half a crown.

7126. By Mr. BROWN: You do not pay any haulage rates there ?—No.

7127. By the CHAIRMAN: Will you give us your views with regard to having sheds erected at some of the larger receiving sidings?—I had all the disadvantages and advantages typed out and sent along to the Commission. I do not know that I can elaborate much on that.

7128. I have here the list that has been prepared. First, you deal with the weevil. You say that most of the present sites at sidings are impregnated with weevil, and that next season's crop is more likely to be weeviled at sidings than at depôts. Have you gone into the question of the cost of treating the old sites?—No. The Scheme tried very hard last year to treat the sites at Fremantle, but found it practically impossible, because the weevil were found to be four or five inches into the ground. At that time I was with Dreyfus & Co., and I also tried on my own account to clean up our old sidings. In the end the best I could do was to rail away the top of the sites and replace it with clean sand. It was not effective.

7129. You found that the weevil came to the top of the soil?—I would not say that, but we put our wheat there, and it became weeviled very quickly. Undoubtedly it was caused by old infected sites.

7130. You think it is not possible to clean the sidings?—Only by taking a foot or so of infected soil and removing it. Even then you have to put it down at some adjacent spot. We have used strong disinfectant, strong sheep dip, and a special mixture prepared by a brother of Mr. Newman. But the weevil have practically to be immersed in it before being killed.

7131. That is the stuff you were using at Albany. When it dries the weevil run about over it?—Yes.

7132. According to evidence given in South Australia if sand is put over the old site the weevil will come to the top?—That was Dr Hargrave's evidence. I doubt it very much. Undoubtedly weevil do live for many months down in the soil and practically without food. According to Dr. Hargrave's evidence he put sand on top of the site and the weevil came through to the surface of the sand and were killed by the sun.

7133. The new wheat will have to be stacked at those sidings?—Temporarily, yes, but possibly we can get some sites which have not had wheat on them for a season or two.

7134. Are there no available sites upon which no wheat has been stacked at all?—In the majority of instances there is not too much room for stacking wheat and most of the land alongside the sidings has been utilised. The latest stacks we cleaned up this season were from Nmebudding, Quairading, Pingelly, and Babakine. From three out of those four the wheat came into depot very much affected by weevil. The clean siding of the four was Babakine, where no wheat has been stacked for some time. Also it was long time since wheat has been stacked at Nembudding, notwithstanding which the new stack was affected.

7135. Is not that infected wheat likely to affect the whole of the wheat at the depôt?—In the course of time, yes.

7136. At every depot we have visited there are weevil in every stack?—Odd patches, yes. I had an instance only this morning. We are shifting a stack at Mt. Kokeby so that the shed might be available for the new season's wheat. But, unfortunately, we find that the whole of the wheat in that shed is weevily. In consequence, I am having the destination of the new wheat altered to the York mill. There was old wheat stacked at Mt. Kokeby until recently, and there is not the slightest doubt that the shed was infected by the old stacks.

7137. You anticipate having this year one-third more crop than you had last year?—At present it looks like 12 million bushels.

7138. Then you will have to provide storage for five million bushels more than last year?—No, because the 12 million-bushel crop means about 10 million bushels will be acquired by the Scheme.

7139. Then you will have to provide for an increase of three million bushels as against last year?—Say two and a-half millions.

7140. And the Railway Department will find it impossible to shift that quantity within a period of two or three months?—This year we expect to start shifting the crop a month earlier than last year. Moreover, last year we were interrupted by two strikes, the more important of which was the coal strike, which upset the railway traffic for weeks.

7141. The these large stacks will have to remain until all the wheat from outlying has been shifted in?—Last year I worked on the plan of getting the wheat from the dampest lines first to avert possible damage by flood. The same thing will apply this year.

7142. And most of the wheat will have to be roofed?—I would not say most of it. A number of the stacks will have to be temporarily roofed.

7143. You will have about six million bushels to shift before you touch the large sidings with their twenty thousand bags?—That would do for a rough calculation. There would be just under 50 sidings at which we would expect 20,000 bags next year.

7144. By Mr. BROWN: We calculated on 4,000,000 bushels for 30 sidings and 6,000,000 bushels for the depôts?—If we had 4,000,000 bushels for sheds in the country and 6,000,000 elsewhere we might not be able to haul that particular 6,000,000. Further, we might have a large number of sheds on one line. You have eight sheds on the Dowerin-Merridin loop. We purpose putting a depôt at Dowerin, and we should probably have these eight sidings cleaned up in two or three months on account of the short haulage to the Dowerin depôt.

7145. You realise that if sites could be prepared for this there would be a considerable saving in handling?—I do not think so.

7146. There would be s saving in the matter of roofing?—Yes. If we had to temporarily roof some of the