the bulk of our machinery is made in Australia, and no country could carry on without a tariff of some sort.

6288. To Mr. PAYNTER: There has been no disease in the crops. I pickle and grade my wheat. I have 20 acres of oats and two acres of barley. I do not think artificial grasses would thrive here, but in winter you can grow vegetables. The white ants get into the fruit trees. That was my experience with apples, lemons, and figs. All the food for my pigs I boil. Poultry should be a valuable side line and I intend to go in for them. I pay 35s. a week wages and keep. The man I employ is not particular as to his hours. For instance, we were 12 hours in the field yesterday. Generally I myself work from five in the morning till nine or so at night. One thousand acres is little enough land for a man to hold here. With less he could not carry any stock, but the water difficulty is at present the trouble. Single-handed a man should crop 350 acres a year. I myself did that quantity last year. If it could be brought about, co-operation amongst the farmers would be an excellent thing. There are one or two alterations, however, that should be effected in connection with the land laws, but the time for payment of rents should be deferred or a man should not be charged for land that he is unable to use. What I mean is, if a man has only 400 acres cleared he should only be asked to pay for 400 acres , and men should be exempt from payment altogether at the start and for a period of years.

6289. BY the CHAIRMAN: In light of your five years' experience, do you think you can make a success of farming?—I would have made a success of it as it is had it not been for the bad year of 1914 which was the cause of all the difficulty, but the future of the district is excellent and we have here a very good class of settler. 6290. To Mr. VENN: The country will be all right for sheep and other stock once the water difficulty is overcome, but sheep will, of course, subsist on water that horses would not look at; the latter must have the best water. I intend myself to go in for sheep later on, and a system of extended terms would be very helpful if the Government would provide the settler with sheep. At the same time they should carefully discriminate as to who should receive them. There are men to whom I would not give a goat, and the system moreover should be under the strictest supervision. Since I have been here I have seen only one dingo, and we are only 12 miles from the fence, but I heard of two others being there. That was in the dry year. Apparently they were looking for water. I do not think that dairying would be a success here, but the country is ideal for sheep and cattle. Last winter I purchased a cow as poor as wood, but she has been milking all the time and getting fat. This district is rather a beef than a dairying proposition. It is rather too dry for dairying.

6291. To Mr. CLARKSON: If there was some scheme for funding the farmers' liabilities under the I.A.B. and extending the repayment it would be an excellent proposition, but undoubtedly it should be very strictly supervised. Personally I have no fault to find with the board, and after all, the board cannot please everybody, and though complaints have been made that they took the whole of the proceeds of one season and left the farmer to pay the interest it must be recollected that the position at the time was exceptional.

(The witness retired.)

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PHIL WILLIAM GOATCHER, Petworth Farm, Dalwallinu, sworn and examined:

6292. To the CHAIRMAN: I took up my land over five years ago, and was one of the first to select in the district. Many years ago I had farming experience in America, but for 50 years I have been a scenic artist. I took up 1,000 acres and my son 1,000. Now we have close on 4,000 acres. We trade as a partnership, P. W. Goatcher & Son. About 1,500 acres of our holding is forest land, but the greater part of the balance is wheat growing country. There is a little scrub and sandplain. The average price I paid was 10s., and I have between four and five miles cartage to the railway. Between 1,500 and 1,600 acres are cleared, nearly 2,000 acres are enclosed with a six and seven-wire fence. My water supply consists of two dams and a well. East of the dams is about 1,000 cubic yards, and ten feet deep, but uncovered. The well is good stock water, and horses will drink it, but they do not do well on it. The well is 74 feet deep. I am a widower, but employ a man and his wife at the homestead. I started with a humpy and have added on to it till it now looks like a street, in fact we call it Hay-street. Some of it is weatherboard, and I have just dug out a fine cellar. I have no stable accommodation, but I shall have cover for machinery, and am constructing an engine house, the timber for the purpose being on the ground. There is the full necessary farming plant, and 20 draft horses, and two foals, a couple of pigs, four cows, and two calves. We have sunk about £6,000 in the place, all my own money. About £1,500 of that came from the bank.

6293. By Mr. CLARKSON: How much have you cropped?—One thousand and ten acres, about 250 of which was fallow. We had fallow before, and there is no doubt it is much better and makes a difference of between four and seven bags to the acre. Last year I had 800 acres in. Some of it was on land that was more or less sour. In 1913, the ground being new, the average was over six bags to the acre. Last year I had 90 tons of hay. I think we sent to the wheat pool 12,000 bushels of wheat. I have between 70 and 80 tons of hay left now. That would be equivalent to about 17 bushels. I have to pay for all my labour, and if I did not get over 12 bushels return I should be on the wrong side of the ledger. But until we get sheep, wheat growing will not be profitable. It would take 12 bushels to pay all expenses. Bulk handling would of course reduce costs, and I have seen the system in operation in Canada and America. In America they have regular wheat carrying tanks for transport to the railway.

6294. How does the tariff affect you?—It is killing the farmer. Tariff was one of the causes that produced the War of Independence. The Southerners had to pay to the Northerners a tax on the machinery, and that was the factor responsible for the war. In Canada you can buy a reaper and binder for less than half the price here. We seem to be fostering a few industries to the detriment of the whole of the country. Although personally I am a protectionist, nevertheless the farmer ought to be able to procure his machinery cheaper.

6295. To Mr. PAYNTER: I have seen a bit of smut, but very little in the way of disease. My seed is graded for me by Mr. Stubbs, a settler in this district. I have not had time yet to go in for rotation of crops, but I shall do so. Trefoil has done very