ways going wrong and the cots of keeping up the harvester which is constantly going on. For instance, a cog wheel costs 16s., a little bit of a thing that could be put in your pocket , and one or other of them wears out every year. If, on the other hand, your wheat was stacked and rain came a big loss would result. A heap of heads would take in every drop of rain that fell. There is no doubt that the tariff has helped to increase the cost of farming machinery and the duty should be removed from all agricultural implements.

6996. To Mr PAYNTER: I had 800 acres of Federation that suffered from rust, but the Toby's luck was fairly free. I have not pickled my wheat for several years, and we have not tried artificial grasses on account of the severe nature of the summer here. We should certainly go in for pig-raising if there was a bacon factory to send the produce to. We only grow poultry for our own use. The two men we employ get £2 10s. a week and find themselves. They are married men. Each of them has a cow and we feed 15 or 20 fowls for them. The average hours that they would put in would be about 10. If we had the facilities, which we have not at the present time, to enable a man to go in for dairying and pig-raising, a man could make a living out of a very small holding , but with wheat he must have a large holding so as to enabled him to run sheep in conjunction, and, therefore, he should not have less than 2,000 acres. I have a brother at Yuna who put in 370 acres this year single-handed. The land was ploughed dry in summer time. Co-operation would be a good thing if there were no combines against us to block us. For instance, there is the case of the Western Australian Framers, Ltd. Six or seven years ago we made an attempt to co-operate in Geraldton, but the merchants were up against us straight away. Originally there was not much reason for complaint when land was only 10s. with 20 years to pay for it in , but if that term was extended to 25 years and a man could hold it free for the first five years it would be better for himself and for the State , but since we have had the repurchase of estates principle the Government do not seem to have been able to extend the time.

6997. To Mr VENN : We are varying about one sheep to nearly four acres all the year round. We have purchased good land, and we did so in South Australia. We breed Shropshire lambs and the first year we sold 400 or 500 lambs to the local butcher at 12s. The following year we could not get rid of them at any price, but if we had freezing works we could produce lambs, in fact, we have done it. At the same time, there could be a bacon factory. On farms in the middle north of Australia you would see everywhere seven or eight cows, and each farmer has his separator, and it was by means of dairying and fat lambs that they were able to carry on at all. Wheat growing is not a paying proposition. There is a butter factory at Orroroo and Jamestown . I think this district is more suited for dairying than many of the parts of South Australia where they have made a success of it. We keep ourselves in butter. Last winter we had two cows in milk, which kept the house in butter, and we were able to sell our neighbours even pounds a week. The cows in South Australia have chaff and stubble, but I never saw an ensilage pit there. I do not say it would not have been better for them if they had gone in for ensilage, but we can keep cows and make a success of butter making in this district if the settles are willing to do the work.

6998 . By Mr CLARKSON : The difficulty is to get labour?—I do not think dairying is possible where you have to employ labour. I have in mind a man. He has assistance from the industries Assistance Board. He has three sons and two daughters. One of his daughters is out at service. He could be milking 12 to 15 cows and making money out of it. They could not do it, however, in South Australia without a separator and factory to handle the cream.

6999. By the CHAIRMAN : What is your opinion of the future of the district?—Well, up to three years ago, we are satisfied that we had a good thing on. But the year that we got the four-bushel average was an eye-opener to us. Unless there is pig raising or lambs or butter making combined with wheat growing there will always be trouble. We have come to the conclusion that you must grow 12 bushels to the acres to make it pay. Our average is 13½ bushels. Further, if it had not been for our sheep we could not have carried on. The principal drawback to the district is the dearness of machinery and every other article that is required on a farm. In addition to this in our case we have 12 miles of cartage, then the return is not sufficient to repay the expenses one is put to. On the other hand if we do not grow the wheat we cannot run the sheep, and if farmers have sheep they should prosper , that is provided they do not pay too much for the land.

7000. At what price would it pay you to sell out and invest in another district in Australia?—It would not pay us to do that at all, because we could not better the position. You cannot go elsewhere and buy land as reasonably as we were able to buy our land here.

7001. By Mr CLARKSON : Would you condemn the system of repurchased estates?— If they were too heavily loaded I certainly would.

7002. By the CHAIRMAN : Do you think that in normal seasons the price of the repurchased estates would be too high?—Yes ; not perhaps as regards Mount Erin , but certainly in respect of Oakabella and Bowes. I would call them good mixed farming lands, and I understand that 30s. to 35s. an acre is what they average.

7003. Is up to £2 per acre too high a price to pay for mixed farming land in Western Australia, unimproved?—Not if it is partly improved, or of a man had money to develop the land straightaway. But by the time he had spent five years at work on it he would not have much money left. I think that all rent and interest for the first five years should be foregone, but of course the conditions for the last three years have been abnormal, and if we had a repetition of those conditions farming would be out of the question. Wheat growing under present conditions cannot be made to pay at 4s.; it should be 7s. a bushel. I do not think the Government could do better than erect bacon factories and assist co-operation in this direction. Instead of spoon-feeding the farmers , they should place them in a position to help themselves. In Geraldton we have a co-operative flour mill, and the Government gave us a loan of £2,000, which helped us to pull through the dry time. The mill started and has been going ahead ever since. If the Government would lend money free of interest for two or three years they would be doing more for the