EDWARD MORRIS DYER, General Storekeeper, Capel , sworn and examined: 10614 . To Mr CLARKSON : A matter of great interest to farmers is the question of freights on manures. Farmers are really evading the law to get their manures through. There is a truck rate and a ton rate and one is 9s 4d while the other is 26s. The latter hits the small man very hard , and in order to avoid paying it three or four farmers will make up a truck load between them and get the stuff consigned to one man. That of course is illegal.

10615. By Mr VENN : The Railway Department recommend that to be done ? - We were under the impression that it was illegal. We have had no information to the contrary. There is no stationmaster here now but we had previously been informed that it was illegal . I should like to see a recommendation made by the Commission that this procedure should be permitted, provided that the farmers amongst themselves can arrange to fill a truck. With regard to assistance being rendered to farmers while I do not favour spoon-feeding , we have had trouble here with loss of crops through flooding. Mr Bratby of the Department of Agriculture told me that the department was prepared to supply seed potatoes and manure but that the department wanted a lien over crop. I wrote on behalf of a farmer for seed and manure , and the reply I received was a bare acknowledgment and form that day to this I have not heard another word from the department. I wrote on the 20th September and received the acknowledgement on the 21st September. Of course the man for whom I wrote did not get any crop in. This kind of thing hits me , because if the man had got his crop in he would have been able to get along somewhat. Now I shall have to carry him over an other reason. With present prices even a moderate crop would have helped to pull the man through. Potatoes have to be sown at a certain time and the Department should have replied without delay.

10616. By Mr CLARKSON : How are the people doing here especially the smaller growers ? - There is a certain number who get on their feet and do well but there are others who are just moving along with the assistance they get from the Agricultural Bank. They never go further ahead. These people should never be working for themselves and the fact that they are doing this prevents others from getting the labour which is so badly wanted . Perhaps one in five will pull through and the storekeepers are the suffers. In this district we have no experienced labour. As soon as a man acquires a little knowledge he starts for himself . There is nothing wrong with this district. Some people have had hard times. We had a bad potato crop last season and we had floods in the winter. When assistance is given it should be given direct to the farmer himself. We do not get assistance in the shape of seed and manure. I have asked that that should be done by the Industries Assistance Board.

10617. Which industry needs the most assistance to put it on its feet ? - The dairying industry which undoubtedly comes first in this district. Next to that of course is fruit but it takes longer. There is a man here who used to grow 120 tons of potatoes a year but he has now put all his doing well. Other men who could not pay their way last year are doing well this year out of their cows. The state however should endeavour to improve the dairy herds in this district and arrange to supply a good class of cow where it was proved a man had feed and a portion of his cheque for cream should be taken as part payment for the stock. In that way a man would soon be able to build up a good herd. With regard to bacon farmers do not seem to be able to take up this question but they do want a bacon factory. If we had a factory it would not be long before the pigs were there. The manager of Foggitt , Jones , and Co stated that the objection to West Australian pigs was that they were all too soft for bacon and that they wanted topping up. Pigs are fed on pollard and spare fruit but they should have three or four weeks hard feeding before being killed. With dairying and pig raising and orchards this district can go ahead well. Another matter to which I would refer is the position of the potato market. If prices drop the wholesale firms have some way of wriggling out , but if the prices go up the grower does not get any benefit. I am not able to suggest any method by which an improvement can be made but something should be done to better the marketing conditions. The suggestions which have been made by the Westralian Farmers Ltd for marketing fruit are excellent. (The witness retired) The commission adjourned.