himself would be 300 acres. The land laws on the whole have been fairly good and liberal but unquestionably the land around here has been quite overrated. The very highest rent should not be more than 10s., as I told the Minister. I have had a good deal to do with the land both in the South and here. In places there is a good depth of soil. I have a fair block myself, but clearing will cost up to 40s. in some places, and on the average about 25s. per acre. My son is alongside of me, but has no sheep at the present time. I had had a good deal of losses in connection with my sheep. The dogs did for 70 breeding ewes, but this year was the best lambing I have had, namely 100 out of 180 ewes. I could carry a sheep to four acres all the year round. There are no dingoes about here now. We lost a whole fortnight getting two dogs which were quiet ones, but we got them at last.

7263A. By the CHAIRMAN: You consider that with fair seasons you can make a success and you do not seek for anything more from the Government?—No. I consider the Ajana country is good, but a trifle short of rainfall. I have seen 10 years good seasons following each other and then succeeded by a drought. The seasons will go on well for about five years and then gradually go back again. The present is not a good season. Last year was, only for the blight.

(The witness retired.)

—————————

HENRY JOSEPH BARTLETT, Farmer, Hutt, sworn and examined:

7264. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been here six years and farming all my life in Victoria and New South Wales. At first I took up 1,000 acres. I now hold 3,464 acres. The average price of the Conditional Purchase land was 15s. 3d., since reduced to 11s. 9d., and the sand-plain country is now reduced to 6s. 3d. My property adjoins the railway. I have cleared and fenced 492 acres. The Conditional Purchase land is subdivided into four paddocks. My grazing lease is in one paddock. My water supply is good wells, four on the Conditional Purchase and three on the grazing lease. They contain good stock water and an unfailing supply. The deepest well is 37ft. down to 11ft. I am a widower and my only son is at the Front. I live in an iron and wood house. I have no stable, but a bush machinery shed and a wool shed of iron and timber. I have a full set of implements, 11 working horses, 700 sheep and two cows. I had £600 capital. I owe the Agricultural Bank nearly £500 but have had nothing from the Industries Assistance Board. I deal with the W.A. Bank but I do not quite know what they will do if this present crop is a failure.

7265. To Mr. CLARKSON: I have 317 acres in crop, 147 acres is fallow and it looks good, far better than the rest. I got 27 bushels off some of the fallow and nine bushels off the other. I have had previous experience of fallow. It was not better last year. I had the best crop off land that was ploughed after the rain. We have only a short season to get in the crop, therefore it must be fallowed. I sow one bushel of seed on all sorts of country and 80lbs. of super., the same on heavy as on light soil. My highest yield is this year; 26 bushels is the best I have had this year. In 1913 I got 22 bushels over 50 acres, but for the whole year I got 14 or 15 bushels over 200 acres. I think it will average about 14 bushels this year, provided we have no storms. It cost 30s. an acre to pay the expenses of putting in and taking off, but that would not include the cost of bags. The early wheats do the best here. I have no Gluyas but I have Firbank; Firbank and Comeback are the best I have. I use a four-furrow mouldboard plough and do my own work, with five horses, and can do an average of four acres a day. With a 15 drill I do 12 acres. I am now using a Deering harvester. Previously I had a Union. It is a six foot. Yesterday I did seven acres with it but on the average I do about five. Thirty acres a week is good work. If I had sufficient land cleared and larger appliances I could not do any better because my land is too hilly. Bulk handling would no doubt assist to reduce our costs. Freight on farming machinery is £9 10s. on a harvester from Fremantle. A sulky which occupies a similar truck only costs £4 10s. and I cannot see where the difference comes in. Undoubtedly farmers' implements should come in free of duty.

7266-7. To Mr. PAYNTER: Last year I had rust and septoria. I pickle but do not grade my wheat. I have grown peas very successfully on sandy country. One bag of peas gave 18 bags of a return. The next year I got seven bags of self-sown for nothing. I got them from Malloch Bros. For sheep a man must improve his country, otherwise he will get no wool. I have had no luck at all with my fruit trees. I lost 150 vines and 40 fruit trees, but vegetable and watermelons grow to an immense size. I have had them up to 40lbs. weight without water. I came here with the intention of going in for pig raising, but we have not had a season in which one could go in for pigs and come out all right. I have had a lot of experience with pigs, in fact, my trade is that of a butcher. I also understand bacon curing, but so far the seasons have not been good enough to warrant going into the enterprise. My idea was to grow feed for the pigs. I believe in Cape barley. I got 60 bushels to the acre this year, and I have never failed to grow barley successfully yet. There is a market, but there has been always something to stop one. First of all it is necessary to have wire-netted paddocks. It is no use keeping them in a sty. You can put pigs on barley as soon as it gets up, and the young pigs are turned on it with their mothers. That was my idea of going in for peas, but the season was against me. It seems to me there is no enterprise available to help anyone along in that line at all. I did everything myself this year and I am trying to battle through. A man must have at least 3,000 acres in this district to make a living out of it, and he should crop 200 acres himself. I am quite satisfied with the price of land and the terms if only the seasons were good, but the seasons have been the trouble and nothing else. On the whole the prices I consider to be very fair. In Victoria or New South Wales one would have to pay as many sovereigns as we pay shillings here for similar land.

7268. To Mr. VENN: I got 1s. 11½d. for my wool last year. I have a good class of sheep. Sand-plain is going to be a good thing for sheep, especially if you can put oats and barley in it.

7269. To Mr. CLARKSON: If the farmers would do better work they would undoubtedly get better re-