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agreed that it was very hard for the Beadigo vine-growers to see 

 their vineyards eradicated without compensation, as they had been 

 taken unawares. As he pointed out before, he considered it quite 

 certain phylloxera would appear eventually in every district in the 

 colony, as it had spread over every other country ; but they could 

 take measures to keep it in check, in order to get time to con- 

 stitute their vineyards on American roots; if they did not do that 

 they would have them all destroyed. As to compensation, it was 

 a very difficult thing to know where to draw the line. He thought 

 the Bendigo vine-growers were entitled to every consideration, but. 

 if phylloxera broke put in all other parts of the colony where was 

 the money for the compensation to come from ? One of the iirst 

 things to be done was to isolate the districts and to prevent tlie 

 circulation of the cuttings, unless the person forwarding the cut- 

 tings accompanied the package with a permit from some central 

 authority, such as the Board of Viticulture, proclaiming that the 

 vineyard from which they came was free from phylloxera. He 

 did not see why the vine-growers should not be compelled to 

 execute the inspection themselves. If they noticed a disease they 

 should be made to communicate with the authorities, and to engage 

 competent inspectors to decide whether it was phylloxera. In 

 Switzerland and France any person who did not report tlie ap- 

 pearance of the disease was liable to a fine. In Switzerland the 

 expenses connected with phylloxera legislation were met by a tax 

 on vineyards, or what they called " compulsory insurance," and he 

 did not see why that should not be adopted here. As to the action 

 taken at Bendigo beheld that if the reports of it were circulated 

 in France it would bring the country into ridicule. Summer 

 eradication was never pursued in any country where phylloxera 

 was thoroughly understood and treated in a reasonable way. 

 Instead of well-known insecticides being applied, salt had been 

 used. In the latest papers he had received from France dealing 

 with phylloxera our policy in using salt as an insecticide was 

 ridiculed. The policy in future should be as much as possible on 

 the lines of prevention. He did not consider that in any country 

 phylloxera could be eradicated, but they could prevent the spread 

 of the disease, and in the meantime replant on American roots. 

 In any case the policy could not be settled in a few minutes ; it 

 would have to be carefully considered, with a view to submission 

 at a future Conference. 



Mr. P. DE Castella. (Yarra Valley Association) raised the point 

 whether, if he planted a vineyard next year and in four years had 

 phylloxera, he would be entitled to compensation. He understood 

 that in. the case of Geelong the board recommended that all vine- 

 yards that were rooted out for the good of the public were to be 

 compensated for; but those that were already doomed merely had 

 to be rooted out at the expense of the Government. There were, 



