6937A. Take your plough: the fallowing you do with the 5ft. and eight horses would be cheaper than what you would do with a smaller plough?—Yes; for instance, an eight-furrow plough can do work that a five-furrow would not do at all. I think a four or five-furrow is the biggest plough that can be used profitably, unles you go in for tractor work. In 1913, the year before the drought, we had 1,400 acres in.

6938. By Mr. VENN: What is the sheep-carrying capacity of your land?—I should say about 800 sheep and about four acres to the sheep, of cleared land all the year round. We breed fairly early lambs here, and put them on the market, but they waste a great deal. There is no doubt that if freezing works were established at the pot it would be a great advantage, as most of the farmers here run a few sheep. There are no dogs, but the rabbits are beginning to come round. They are not doing any harm at present, but still they are coming about. Two years ago we had none at all; to-day there are a good many about. They are burrowing in places, and the country here is well adapted for them.

6939. To the CHAIRMAN: The conditions of land settlement here are stopping a lot of people from coming here, men with capital. I know 12 or 14 who are waiting to see how this proposition of ours is going to turn out. I certainly think there should be a considerable reduction in rent payments, but I cannot think of anything else. I would like a reduction in rents and an alteration in handling facilities. We would also like to enlarge our holding. We have not been able to meet our payments at all since we have been there, and that is five years. We have had the same trouble one year after the other both with regard to freight facilities and the seasons. Not including land rents or interest to our people, which has been wiped off now, up to the present our expenses are £5,889, and the receipts including an amount of £2,000 this year, have been £5,842; so we have just taken off as much as it has cost us for five years of labour.

6940. To Mr. VENN: Sheep have been our mainstay and we must have them; it is fatal to be without them. Most of the farmers in the district own one of two cows.

(The witness retired.)

_________________

Mrs. LEDSHAM and Mrs. DILLON waited upon the Commission:

6941. Mrs. Ledsham submitted that the settlers should be provided with better homes. They considered they had proved themselves, and had put improvements on the farms, and that surely their homes might also be improved. After the settlers' money had been spent on improvements they should be assisted to erect a good horse, and the bank should see that the money allotted for this purpose was properly spent. Many of the homes were simply dreadful. For the first five years the settler puts up with a temporary camp; after that a good home ought to be procurable.

6942. To Mr. VENN: There is plenty of stone in the neighbourhood, but it is expensive on account of labour. Houses are generally or iron and hessian. There are very few stone houses.

6943. Mrs. Dillon said that they wanted their weather-board houses lined, but iron houses should be lined with timber to make them cool. The pug houses have no ceiling and no verandahs. Some of them have only two rooms, and when there is children it is purgatory. The women have no amenities at all, and most of the settlers are financed by the Agricultural Bank.

6944. The CHAIRMAN: This same matter has been brought before us in other districts. You had better leave it in our hands and we will devote special attention to the point in our report, and I need not say that our views will be most sympathetic.

6945. Mrs. Dillon said that a resolution passed at a local meeting recently was to effect that settlers families should have a complete change annually, and that cheap fares should be provided by the department to enable them to travel to any part of the State at a reasonable cost during the months of February, March, and April. Those were the months when settlers could best afford the time. The Christmas excursions are of no use at all to the dwellers in the bush. A resident doctor was also necessary, but a subsidy of pound for pound had been asked to induce a competent medical man to reside in the district.

6946. The CHAIRMAN: Owing to the war there is a shortage of doctors, and until the conclusion of hostilities it would be useless to stress the point.

6947. Mrs. DILLON: In view of the surplus of eggs, facilities for storage should be provided at Geraldton, and better prices could be obtained when eggs were scarce. At present there are no cold stores there. Fivepence per dozen is the price obtainable in Geraldton. By the time they are sent to Perth this price might be increase 1d., and then one has to travel five or six miles to the siding to despatch them.

6948. Mr. PAYNTER. If you will put them down in preservative the pastrycook trade will gladly take them later. They can be packed in kerosene cases in the winter.

6949. Mrs. Dillon said that they would not keep long once they were taken out of the liquid, and there is only one train a week.

6950. Mrs. Ledsham stated that it took a week for her to market her eggs in Perth.

6951. Mr. Paynter pointed out that the price paid in Kalgoorlie was 11d. a dozen, and that was 220 miles distant from his own place, from which he was accustomed to send regular consignments, and they showed a net return of 8d. per dozen.

6952. Mrs. Dillon said that it seemed strange that it took a week to send eggs from there to Perth, while from other points they could go direct to Kalgoorlie.

6953. The CHAIRMAN: There is no doubt there should be better facilities between here and Perth for the transport of produce.

(The deputation then withdrew.)

JAMES HAWKINS FITZGERALD, Farmer, Neralling, sworn and examined:

6954. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been in this district for six years, and have had both practical and scientific training in farming in the western districts of Victoria. I hold 675 acres here on a repurchased estate, and paid £2 18s. an acre for it. The back end of the property is rough heavy country, about 25 acres. The good, arable land is about 650 acres, and I am about two miles from the railway. I have cleared 400 acres, and it is all fenced with