37 



We ask, Mr. Chairman, for the protection others get. For in- 

 stance, the dairyman, whose prosperity depends on keeping his 

 herd healthy; if he finds his neighbour, who is less careful, has 

 pleuro-pnenmonia or tuberculosis in his cattle, he has but to report 

 the matter to the authorities, and immediate action is taken in 

 order to stamp it out. At present we have no power to act should 

 a neighbour allow his orchard to become filthy, and thus spread 

 disease and ruin. Allow me to give a case in point. A fruiterer, 

 who resides in a comparatively clean district, had an apple tree, 

 on which the fruit was simply a breeding place for the codlin 

 moth. When spoken to he refused to destroy the tree, and his 

 neighbours were helpless. We ask the assistance of all the fruit- 

 growing associations, so that we may be able to induce the Go- 

 vernment to legislate on this matter at the earliest possible date, 

 as it is worse than useless to spend tens of thousands in order to 

 foster an industry like this, and then allow it to be destroyed for 

 the want of a little care in management. 



We fear the opposition of those gentlemen who reside within 

 -the infected districts, and who only wish to adopt preventive 

 measures for keeping out the old world pests not yet introduced, 

 which is very good and desirable, but which is certainly too 

 limited in its scope. 



If it is impossible to get a Bill passed to apply to the colony at 

 large, let us have one which will make it possible to divide into 

 districts, clean and infected, the former being able to prohibit the 

 introduction of diseased fruit or trees from infected parts ; also 

 to make it absolutely necessary to fumigate all fruit cases. 



Adjourned till to-morrow, at Eleven o^clock. 



FRIDAY, 30th MARCH, 1894. 



The Chairman repeated his suggestion as to the subjects that 

 might with advantage be discussed by the Conference. The first 

 was as to whether the growers in this colony were growing the 

 proper sorts of fruits for export, and even for local consumption. 

 They knew they had made many mistakes as to the selection of 

 fruit trees for planting. He himself did so when first planting, 

 and acting under the best advice he could then get — an agricul- 

 tural editor of one of our metropolitan journals. Probably they 

 had not then an export trade in view, and he made the mistake 



