Wheat farming here is merely paying expenses.

9598. To Mr VENN: Cultivated land in the district will carry one sheep to three acres. There is no well water on the salmon gum land, it holds like a bottle. A one thousand yard dam would be permanent if the land were not overstocked. Very few Midland settlers will pull through without assistance; most of them about here had money. I include sandplain in the three acres to a sheep estimate. The average rainfall is 17 inches. We generally get rain in September to mature the wheat. Very little dairying is done here. It is essentially wheat and sheep country. The county further south is better suited for dairying. The Government settlers here are on a better wicket than are the Midland settlers. It would be a great boon if we could save the expense of bags. None of the settlers in this district are on the Industries Assistance Board.

(The witness retired.)

FREDERICK CLARKE HAMILTON, Warwick Park, Moora, sworn and examined:

9599. To Mr. PAYNTER: I hold 5900 acres. I had no previous experience of farming except that I was fruit growing when a lad in the Goulbourn Valley, Victoria. Our land is all freehold. It was all Midland Company's land and is fenced into 55 paddocks. It is fully equipped as regards buildings and water supply. We have 1800 to 2000 sheep. In normal times we crop 1200 acres. Wheat growing here will not pay alone except in very favourable circumstances. The cost of bags ought to be reduced. The railway freights are reasonable. Machinery is a heavy item, especially with regard to duplicate parts.

9600-1. To Mr. VENN: The smaller of the Midland settlers are having a hard struggle, due to bad seasons. I think they will just about pull through.The dry spell last year crippled many. We sow 60lbs. of seed and from 60 to 90lbs. of super. Our average yield in 1911 was 10 1/2 bushels; in 1912 it was 20 1/4; in 1913 it was 20 1/2; in 1914 it was 6 1/4; in 1915 it was 11; in 1916 it was 13 1/2. Our cost of cropping is £2 per acre. Farmers working on a smaller scale would get through for less. We have been keeping our men all the year round. We pay £2 15s. per week and they find themselves.We give them a bonus ranging from £10 to £25. Wheat does not pay if one takes into consideration depreciation on plant and buildings. The Government terms are easier than those of the Midland Company.The Company charged us an average of 29s. 3d. per acre. None of it was improved other than an old station fence. Conditions of payment were cash with a discount. Sheep do very well in this country. We started with a good class of merino, but we had to sacrifice a lot of the ewes in the drought of 1911. I sold them in good condition as fats, but it was a slaughter all the same, and since then we have never got back to the right quality. I do not think this district suitable for dairying. There is too long a dry spell in summer. I have a silo for feeding the milking cows; in consequence, we get more milk and the ensilage is cheaper than chaff and bran. I have tried growing barley and rape. The natural grasses give better results than the artificial. I am trying subterranean clover now.

9602. To Mr. PAYNTER; I think bulk handling would reduce farming costs. The land laws are sufficiently liberal. But for the two bad seasons there would never have been much trouble.The present is an exceptionally good season for grass. I find big framed, strong wool merino sheep the best in this district. We are keeping Cross-bred sheep at Berkshire Valley farm, but good fences are necessary for this class of stock. Some of the Round Hill settlers are on the Industries Assistance Board in consequence of the two bad seasons.

(The witness retired.)

9603.To Mr. PAYNTER; I have held land here since 1910. I had previous experience sheep-farming. I have only 870 acres and the freehold of 100 acres. The larger block is five miles from a railway and the smaller two miles. The larger bock is Midland Company's land. The smaller I bought freehold from the previous owner. I paid 30s. for the larger block on terms from the administrators of the previous owner. I had 14 years in which to pay. The annual payments amount to £52 per annum and interest at 4 percent. I have 250 acres cleared. The whole is fenced into 8 paddocks. I have a comfortable wooden house, stables and shed and man's room. I am cropping on the share system. I have two farm horses. The only part of the farm I am working myself is the grazing part. Most of the settlers in this district had a fair amount of capital when starting. Many of them are up against it now, owing to the bad seasons. The conditions under which Midland land is taken up are pretty well equal to those under which Government land is selected, except that the Government are more ready than the Company to grant assistance and that the Government settler has the advantage of the Agricultural Bank, which will not advance to Midland settlers.

9604. To Mr. VENN: The Midland settlers have to pay capital and 4 percent interest altogether. It is only men with capital who can buy Midland land. There are many small farmers in the district. In normal years they do pretty well. Lately they have been doing badly. As secretary of the Farmers' and Settlers' Association I am frequently faced with evidence of this. The carrying capacity of improved land here is about three acres to the sheep. I do not think this is a dairying district. Cattle do not seem to do very well here. I think it is more suitable for the lamb trade. On the whole, sheep do very well here.

(The witness retired.)

The Commission adjourned.