6543. To Mr. CLARKSON: I had bad luck with the harvester and one piece of my crop I did not take off, about 30 acres, and I had to leave it. Roughly, I got off the balance of 70 acres 17 bushels per acre. This year I have 260 acres in, but no fallow. It will go 15 bushels. It takes 15 bushels to pay expenses, and there is nothing in wheat growing unless you have stock. There would be only a living in it without wages or interest on capital. Bulk handling should help to reduce costs. The tariff has not affected me very much up to now, as I have not sent very much wheat away.

6544. To Mr. PAYNTER: I believe in co-operation, although I have not studied the subject. For myself, speaking of the land laws, I would not take up land again. The rents are heavy and they are particularly pressing when you are not making anything out of the land. A man should have four or five years to pay the rent in. I have not heard that the Agricultural Bank are not going to lend any more money for clearing. If a man has a place properly fenced and some sheep he would be in a better position as he would be receiving more than one pay in the year; but my wife likes the life very well. I like it too, but the prospects are like what I anticipated. My heart and soul are in farming if I can only make a do of it, but to do that will require something more than wheat, namely, sheep.

6545. By Mr. CLARKSON: Are you as well paid farming as you were in your occupation in the city?—I had my own business for many years in Perth and there was more profit in it than in farming. I wanted to make a home for the boys, and as one of them seems cut out for farming I went upon the land. The bank should give us every possible help to clear more land. If a man had 200 acres of crop, 200 on fallow, and a few sheep, he ought to do very well.

(The witness retired.)

WILLIAM JOHN CAMPBELL, Farmer, Bowgada, sworn and examined:

6546. To the CHAIRMAN: I came to this district in 1911 and I had no previous experience of farming. I am a plumber by trade. With my brother I took up 2,000 acres and my father took up another 1,000. We farmed together as Campbell & Sons. Fifty per cent. of our holding is forest and the rest is scrub country, jam and ti-tree. It is all wheat land. Before the reduction it cost a guinea and 15s. Now it is priced at 14s. 6d. We are 4½ miles from the nearest railway siding. We have cleared 500 acres and fenced 500 acres. Our water supply is a dam of 500 cubic yards and a well of 52 feet, but it is a poor supply, although the water is good. It provides sufficient water to work the farm with. I am a married man, but have no children. We have a four-roomed house; it is made of canvas, and a shed for our horses 40 feet by 25 feet. We have also sheds for implements. We have everything requisite to work our land with, including six working horses and a young horse, several foals and a pig. When I came here I had no capital. I financed myself by working on the assistance of the bank. Up to date I have had £600 on the block. I took one up the year before last. The other block I have had for six years. I have been assisted by the Industries Assistance Board with chaff, seed and super. to the extent of £320, and this year we have been supplied with stores. To-day I think we owe the Board about £5, at least that was the amount last March. We found our stores last year and we still have the 6d. dividend to come, so that all told we ought not to be in debt to the Board more than £100.

6547. To Mr. CLARKSON: We have 400 acres under crop and 40 acres were fallow. The highest average since we started farming was 18 bushels for 200 acres. That was last year. This year I estimate the crop will go 15 bushels, and I think a fair average for the district would be about 18 bushels. I should say that it would take about 12 bushels to the acre to pay the cost of putting in and taking off. We use a four-furrow disc plough. With larger machinery there would be more wear and tear and I am not altogether in favour of it. At the same time I think that bulk handling would reduce our costs. All the same we would have to use bags to take our seed to the railway. Farmers' implements should come in free of all duty.

6548. To Mr. PAYNTER: We have had no diseases in our crops. We pickle, but do not grade our wheat. We have not tried to grow any fodder crops or artificial grasses, but I have started canary grass which is doing very well. Pigs do very well also, but so far as fruit trees are concerned, I am quite convinced that sooner or later the white ants will get them. We have 500 fowls, but so far have not entered the market with our eggs. When we employ labour the wages we pay are £2 a week and keep, and our men work on an average from seven to eight hours a day week in and week out. Personally I work as long as ever I can. In order to make a living a man in this district should hold at least 1,000 acres, and he ought to be able to handle 300 acres by himself. I do not think, however, that co-operation would be an advantage among farmers because it is impossible to get them to work together. Since the reduction in rent took place the prices are more equitable, and I consider that they are satisfactory, but it takes 25s. per acre to clear land here.

6549. To Mr. VENN: We have no poison and the country is well grassed when rung. Later I intend to go in for sheep as I have plenty of dam sites on the property. I would not be inclined to trust too much to wells. It would be an excellent policy if the Government would sell breeding ewes to settlers here on extended terms, always provided that the settler had his land fenced, otherwise he would have to herd his sheep at night, but his holding should certainly eventually be fenced with netting as the rabbits are now starting in here. I have seen their tracks in several places. The Government should give more assistance to enable us to clear the land so as to keep it clean once it has been cleared, but without stock you cannot keep land clean. I am quite satisfied that the prospects here are excellent provided that we can get stock and that they are worked properly. My father has been working all the time since we took up the land and has been keeping us going in tucker, otherwise we should not be so far advanced as we are now. We have had no assistance by way of advice from the Government officials except once, four years ago, when Mr. Sutton lectured here.

(The witness retired.)