Longrenon, I went to Dookie Agricultural College. Thence I went dairying in the Ballarat district. I took up 3,300 acres here, of which I consider half is first class, and not more than 300 acres useless. I pay the Government from 10s. to 6s. 8d. It would average 8s. 6d. There is a siding adjoining my place. I have about 1,000 acres cleared and 2,800 fenced and netted, and subdivided into eight paddocks. My water supply is from four dams. The average capacity is about 1,000 yards, and from nine to ten feet deep. They have never been dry since they first filled. The rainfall is 16 inches. I am a married man with three children. I am six miles from Nyabing, where they can attend school. I have a four-roomed bat house with a weatherboard addition of three rooms. My stables are blackboy, thatched, and machinery shed and barn are of galvanised iron, thatched. I have a full set of implements, 12 working horses, 70 sheep, 80 pigs, three cows and three calves. I started with from £1,300 to £1,400 capital. I have put £3,000 into the farm of my own money. I have borrowed £2,000 from the Agricultural bank and have other liabilities to the extent of, say, £600. I cropped 180 acres last year. This yielded about 12 bushels of wheat, and 21 bushels of oats.

9250. To Mr. PAYNTER: Of the area cropped 104 acres were fallowed. I believe in fallowing, but have seen failures on fallow ground. The year before last I had 620 acres in. I ploughed nearly all of this twice, cultivated all of it twice, and the result was not quite 12 bushels. I sow about 80lbs. of super and about a bushel of seed. The most suitable wheat I find is Steinwedel for late sowing and Lotz and Marshall's for early sowing. My machinery has cost me nearly £1,000. I do not consider I could improve by using larger machinery, on account of shortage of power. Tractors would not do here. My land is patchy, but I try to plough four inches with a four-furrow plough and eight horses. I consider the tariff bears very heavily on the farmer. On my machinery the tariff accounts for about 30 per cent. For livestock this amount would have been considerable help to me. Bulk handling will reduce the cost of the farmer a great deal. I have read reports on the subject and am of opinion it will save tremendously in bags and labour. The men we employ get a big advance on what the farmers get.

9251. To Mr. VENN: The three cows I have are fair sorts for this part of the State. They average one pound of butter per day each from the grass to October.

9252. To Mr. PAYNTER: For mixed farming I consider a man should have 2,000 acres. I have too much. A man should have 300 acres cleared to commence with. I do not consider our land laws liberal, considering the quality of the land. There is too much poor land in this district. Farmers here should have from five to ten years rent free. At 3s. 6d. per bushel 14 bushels would be needed to make wheat growing pay. This would include wages to myself, interest on capital, and land rents.

9253. To the CHAIRMAN: To become successful I require more stock. I have plenty of feed and very little stock. Dogs have been a trouble, but apparently I have got rid of them now. I have suffered serious losses through the ravages of dingoes.

(The witness retired.) _________________

Mrs. CATHRINE COFF, 14-Mile Gate, Warren Road, via Katanning, sworn and examined:

9354. To the CHAIRMAN: I was appointed to represent the women of this district. Considering our small means things are very hard for us. There is a need for more comfortable homes. We have been for six years in an iron and hessian place. This is the general condition of families here. Our men folk are employed all the while with their clearing and other work, and this does not give them a chance to improve the homes.

9255. By the CHAIRMAN: If the Government found window sashes, door frames, etc., do you think time could be found to put up bat houses?-- Yes, I think so.

9256. To the CHAIRMAN: I think we should have maternity nurses available. People have to go to Katanning and have no one to leave their children with.

9257. To Mr. PAYNTER: The women in this district do whatever they can to improve matter on the farm by making butter and attending to poultry.

9258. To the CHAIRMAN: We have been assisted by the Industries Assistance Board. If it had not been for this we should have had to leave our farms. Now I think we can pull through. Our land is infested with poison. I consider that all but 200 to 300 acres are poison infested. Our land was 14s. but has been reduced to 11s. 3d. The best of the land is not worth 10s. per acre. If we can get rid of the poison we intend to go in for sheep.

(The witness retired.)

The Commission adjourned.