7965. By Mr. VEEN: Have you had any experience in the Eastern States of rabbits? - Yes, and I think they are going to be bad here, but not as bad as over there as they have not the same facilities for burrowing. Moreover, there is less water and no summer rains. They are dying away now as there is no green feed. They are ring-barking the scrub for moisture at the present moment as they used to do in Queensland. Dead rabbits are lying about everywhere. They generally die off in summer.

7966. By the CHAIRMAN: If the dams were netted and poison provided it should have a deterent effect? - You could keep them under control. Personally, I applied for netting for myself, and also to have the Government dam netted in. Now is the opportune time to do this otherwise the rain might come when they are ready to do the work. I have a poor opinion of the average settler here and hardly think that he will be able to carry on. At least that is the result of my observation and experience here. There is a want of system amongst them, and they are spending too much time on trivial things. I think the poor land is suitable for grazing, that is if we get it for nothing. But if they charge rent it is not worth while fencing it in.

7967. Do you think a half-penny an acre would be a fair thing for a lease? - That would be more reasonable. It is only 2d. an acre on the other side, where you would get good grass for that money.

7968. Would you favour leases in perpetuity? - Yes, I would like to see that system introduced.

7969. Our land laws legislate for good country, but if poor land could be obtained at a low rental there is every probability that it would be taken up? - Yes, the 6s. we pay for poor country now should be taken off altogether; then we could afford to clear it and perhaps to carry stock on it. It would be a good thing for farming if farmers would cooperate and between them run poison carts in the district for the suppression of rabbits.

(The witness retired.)

_______________

KENNEDY BURNSIDE, Farmer, Kuminin, sworn and examined:

7970. By the CHAIRMAN: How long have you been in this district? - Seven years. I was farming in New Zealand at one time and am the son of a farmer in the north of Queensland. I hold between 3,000 and 4,000 acres. Roughly two-thirds of it is first class land, say, 2,500 acres. The balance is sand plain. I paid various prices, ranging from 7s. 6d. to 15s 6d. and 22s. 6d. The latter has been reduced to 15s. The property is eight miles from the railway. I have one paddock of 340 acres with three-wire fence. I have further posts, but no wire, because it is too dear to buy.

I have 1,200 acres cleared and am a married man without a family. I have a bush humpy to live in, stables and machinery sheds, a set of implements, 15 working horses and a cow. I have spent £2,400 of my own money on it and borrowed between £300 and £400 from the Agricultural Bank, but nothing from the Industries Assistance Board. I started in partnership with Mr. H. Bennett and I bought him out and I owe him a bit still. I came to this district because my brother induced us to come here. I did not inspect this particular land, but I got reports from people about it, who had been here and I am quite satisfied with the country.

7971. By Mr PAYNTER: How much crop have you? - This year 630 acres. Last year I had 660 but it is not the same land that was cropped the previous year. I believe in fallow to a certain extent but some country is expensive to fallow as it grows so many suckers, which is a big expense. I use 50lbs. of super. and 60lbs. of Alpha to the acre and sow about 50lbs of the other varieties. I use 60 up to 120lbs. of super. on sand plain. My highest average yield was the season before this. I had 160 acres of sand plain which went 10 bushels and 18 bushels on an average right through, which meant that the forest land exceeded 20 bushels to the acre. This year I have an average of 15 bushels right through.

To put in and take off a crop and deliver it at the siding would cost about £2 an acre in the early stages. Then there is root picking and sucker cutting to be done, but as the land gets cleaned the cost proportionately reduces. I use a 10-disc plough and sometimes 10 or 12 horses and do 8 acres a day. I have a 11½ft. cultivator which does 20 acres, a 15 and 17 drill. I use six stump-jump harrows which cover 35 acres a day. I have a Massey-Harris reaper thresher and a Sunshine. With the former, which is eight feet wide, I do about 10 acres, and with the harvester about five acres a day. A larger plant and machinery and teams would, of course, reduce costs. I consider the tariff is altogether too high. Every pound we get we spend on the land and every pound we spend on machinery is so much less land cleared. The Government would get it back just the same.

Bulk handling would be a great advantage. For instance, I paid £122 for bags this year and that I consider is a dead loss. If the Government put a tax of £50 on me it would make up for the bulk handling and it would be a saving of £50 to me. That is 50 acres more cleared and at 15 bushels to the acre it would mean more to me and more to the railway. I favour Gluyas as a rule. A man with an ordinary harvester cannot pick it all up but you could with a reaper-thresher. I have had no disease in my crops. I pickle my wheat and always winnow it. I am growing vegetables but no fruit trees. We have poultry and a few pigs. Wages are 35s to 40s. a week and keep. A man with a team works about 7½ hours a day and has to look after his horses as well. No settler should have less than 1,000 acres in this district and should crop annually 250. I think the conditions of land here are easy and the best land regulations in the world.

7972. To MR VEEN: The rabbits are going to be a menace to the district. Since we all got dams with water they have all increased very fast. Fencing is the drawback to sheep at the present time. Dingoes are plentiful and they have cleaned out our turkeys and you have to fence against dingoes as well as rabbits. The Kuminin fence is four feet high and I think they get over it. One dingo cut out the whole profit of a neighbour of mine in one night. The Government has no money and the banks will not advance any, and yet we all want netting and there is no hope of getting it, therefore there is no use in thinking any more about it. Personally, I do not want any. If the Government would bring netting down to a reasonable price I should be pleased,