and-stone house of four rooms. It was built 50 years ago. There is no stable, but there is a machinery shed. I have a full set of implements, eight working horses, 250 sheep and a few fowls.

7089. what capital have you and your wife put into these two ventures?—For the first three years I got nothing out of it. The investment cost about £600. I have not borrowed any money. I was working on the station and at the same time building up the farm and putting everything I made into it. I have no debts on the farm.

7090. By Mr CLARKSON: The wages you earn are included in the £600?—Yes, and a lot of the £600 was gifts from my wife's mother and so was the farm, so there was no outlay. It was improved and I have further improved it. I have 250 acres of crop, 40 of which was fallow and is better than the rest. In other years I had fallow, but the last two years were failures. I sow one and a quarter bushels to the acre and 60 to 80lbs. of super. The highest average yield was 15 bushels in 1913. this year I look forward to a 12-bushel average. It costs about 3s. a bushel before I get anything for myself. It costs 7s. an acre for fallowing and I think I would need 10 bushels as an average to pay the working costs. Bulk handling would, no doubt, reduce costs.

7091. To Mr PAYNTER: I had rust last year badly. I pickle my wheat. I have not tried fodder crops or artificial grasses. Fruit trees and vegetables do not do well, as the season is too short. We have fowls for our own use, and the wages I pay are 25s. to 30s. a week and keep. In this district a man should go in for mixed farming. A man should be able to do 250 acres himself. I am a great believer in co-operation and I think farmers could be brought together for the purpose. The land conditions are easy, but the price is too stiff. I do not think that any land should be higher than 10s. an acre, but nevertheless there is a lot of poison land here, which could be turned to some use if it was taken up. I have been clearing a paddock of 800 acres for three years past to run sheep in, and there are thousands of acres that can be used for the same purpose if the price was reasonable.

7092. To Mr VENN: I sent some fat sheep to Perth, and you can get rid of all your fats there. I go in for merinos. A few of the farmers go in for lamb raising. One farmer here goes in for Shropshires and sells his lambs at six months old for £1 a head. Rabbits are greatly increasing; you can notice that they are getting thicker and that they are getting on to the farming land.

7093. To the CHAIRMAN: I have 200 sheep on the farm and 8,000 sheep on the station, which is 60,000 acres.

7094. By Mr CLARKSON: How many sheep would your 3,500 acres of C.P. land carry all the year round by itself?—About 700; that is, a sheep to five acres. The only thing one can do is to burn the sandplain to get green feed in the winter. I live on the station, and have the farm on half shares with another man. If the poison country could be thrown open it would improve the land of a number of farmers. The poison is York road, and there is a fair amount of it.

(The witness retired.)

——————————

Mrs AMY ROSE JACKSON, Farmer, Oakabella, sworn and examined:

7095. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been in this district since I was a girl of 15. I have owned Oakabella for six years. It contains 1,000 acres, and about half of it is suitable for cultivation. The price per acre was £4 without interest, and the annual instalment is £311 a year. It is two miles from the railway, and there are between 700 and 800 acres cleared. it is all fenced and subdivided into 12 paddocks. The old fields are so thick with couch grass that we cannot cultivate them. I occupy the old homestead, so that we have plenty of buildings though a lot of them are broken down, but nevertheless they were charged for in the price of the land. There is an excellent water supply, and a school at Howatharra, five miles away. I have a full set of implements, 14 working horses, 400 sheep, and four head of cattle. I sold another farm and put the proceeds into Oakabella. I expect I must have put £2,000 into it so far. I did not borrow money to clear it. I had another farm occupied by Mr W. H. James, at Howatharra; that is the own I sold and put the money into Oakabella. The Industries Assistance Board is helping me a little. Last month they began to give me some money, and this year they are providing bags and super and 50 bags of seed wheat. I bought the rest myself. They stood to me for rent this year and last year. As near as I can guess, I must owe them about £800, including the rent.

7096. To Mr CLARKSON: I put in 500 acres of wheat, oats, and barley. The largest part of it was fallowed. I had some of it dry-ploughed. The fallow is not good this year. I had a big field of Yandilla King put in this year as I lost Federation last year. That got the rust this year. Double-gees are plentiful. I have 37½ bushels off some of the land. Four years ago I had a beautiful crop; I had 400 tons of hay and about 700 bags of wheat. That came off 300 acres.

7097. To Mr PAYNTER: Last year I lost all my crop with septoria and rust. I pickle and grade my wheat. I consider the price of the land is too high. I could battle along with Oakabella with good seasons, but the last two or three years have crippled me. My children work for me and I only employ one boy now, and it does not cost much for wages. A fair price for the land would be 30s. an acres. It is a dirty place, and it keeps us working day and night, through the double-gees. I have had a great battle here, and I used to go out and farm the land myself. Only for the sheep we would have starved here. At last I had to go to the Industries Assistance Board. They paid for the implements and manure, and helped me along, and I have managed to battle, but I do not know how, but of course I do not want to lose the land. I should like to have the price of the land reduced. I have to pay £311 a year before I get a penny for myself. There are a lot of old cottages there that have fallen sown from age that have all been charged for in the original price of the land.

7098. By Mr CLARKSON: How much cleared land was there?—They said there was 250 or 300 acres. It is beautiful pasture, and the manager of the Agricultural Bank told me never to try to cultivate it. We have tried early wheats, but the couch grass beats them. I would like to have 200 or 300 more sheep. I could carry 600 or 700 if I did not cultivate so