MONDAY, 20th NOVEMBER, 1916. (At Ballidu.)

Present: J. O. Giles, Esq., Chairman., B. L. Clarkson, Esq. H. H. Paynter, Esq. F. E. Venn, Esq.

HENRY CARTER, Farmer, Duli, via Ballidu, sworn and examined:

6217. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been settled in this district going on for eight years. I had no previous farming experience before coming here, but was an hotel-keeper. I took up 3,730 acres, of which 2,500 was forest and the rest scrub country. But it is all suitable for wheat growing. I paid 10s. an acre for the land, with the exception of two blocks. One 1,000 acre block is a grazing lease, most of it is light country. The price was 3s. 9d. The other block is C.P., 400 acres, price 12s. Subsequently it was reduced to 9s. 6d., on the revision of rent. It is one of the worst blocks, and it is 15 miles from the railway. I have 950 acres cleared, and have been fencing it as I cleared it. I suppose there are 14 miles of fencing altogether. About 2,000 acres are enclosed in six different paddocks. I have a reservoir which is partly catchment and partly soakage. I have a well, but it has become so salty that it is not now fit for use. My reservoir is about 400 cubic yards in extent, and it keeps me going from the month of May to the beginning of December. Fortunately, in most years we get thunderstorms in January, and that keeps us going, with the exception of three months in the year. I am now sinking an 800 cubic yard dam. I am a married man and my house is of bats, and contains seven rooms. I have stabling for 12 horses, with a straw roof, and a similar covering for the farm implements. I have a full farming plant and ten working horses. Besides these there are a few thousand bags. When I started I had £2,000 capital, but it has not been sufficient to carry me through, and I had to go upon the I.A.B. From the Agricultural Bank I received about £1,000, but the I.A.B. have not rendered accounts since the 31st March. Roughly, I think I owed them £200, and I had outstanding debts for machinery amounting to £200, and in addition there was rent and Agricultural Bank interest, making another £150, a total of £550—that is, after allowing for the wheat delivered. Since that time I have had 20 tons of super, and a store account from the I.A.B., and repairs to machinery, etc., which would amount to about £900, which would be my total liability when the crop comes off. Roughly, I must owe about £2,000. I applied to the Lands Department for exemption of rent and they agreed to let me have 12 months' exemption on my lease. There is a school two miles from me, and after Christmas I shall have three children attending it. About six weeks ago the school teacher resigned, and the department was unable to procure another teacher until the new year, so that the children will probably forget a great deal of what they have learnt. Our nearest doctor is 62 miles away, in Goomalling, and the nearest telephone and telegraph is at Wongan Hills. We have been trying to get a telephone here, but up to the present unsuccessfully. I do not recollect seeing any official or expert of the Agricultural Department or obtaining any advice from him, but I had a personal interview with Mr Sutton, who gave me some information I required in connection with farming. Outside that the departmental experts have done nothing of importance.

6218. To Mr CLARKSON: I have 600 acres in crop, and no fallow. There is 100 acres of summer ploughing. I have never had any fallow, only summer ploughing. Nevertheless, fallow would improve the yield, but in my case I have been most anxious to get out of debt and get in as much crop as possible. One knows that fallow is best. As far as fallow is concerned, it is unquestionably the right method, but it is not always a certainty. The seasons have more to say in the matter than the fallow, but from this out I intend to go in for it more. I have 300 acres now of fallow for next year. Then I intend to fallow the whole of my land. I use 112lbs. of super on light land, and about 60lbs. on forest. I seed about 55lbs. on the light and heavy soils.

6219. Do you plough or use a cultivator?—About half and half. I use a four-furrow disc plough, and a 17-tine spring-tooth cultivator. I use "Union" harvesting machinery. I grow both early and late wheats, but there has been difficulty in obtaining seed. I got Bunyip from another farmer, and although last year it was good, this year it is poor. It has been mixed with other seed. Last year it did not show up. The best yields were this year in the early wheats. I think in view of the present price of bags that bulk handling would reduce costs, but is it going to reduce railway freights? Nothing definite seems to have been arrived at as to how it will be carried out. Possibly there should be a depot at Northam, but you could not have elevators at small sidings, so we would have to use bags, I suppose. If, however, there were elevators at the sidings it would pay to have tanks specially made to convey the grain, and that would do away with bags altogether.

6220. Do you think that farming implements should come in free of duty?—That is rather a political question, but if you as me if they are too