2s. per acre when kerosene was a reasonable price. I am starting dairying and am quite satisfied with the prospects .I send the cream to the Bunbury butter factory. My cheque was £18 15s 5d. the month before last and this month £15 7s. 2d. This was from five cows and 10 heifers

10948. What acreage do you consider a man should have in this district?—I consider a man should have 500 acres in order to make a living. Where the country is more open he should have up to 2,000acres.The greatest difficulty we have here is the cost of clearing. I am one of the pioneers of this district and have plenty of experience. I started as I told you with no capital and I found that the old style of clearing is costly. It was all done by man power. Then the gelignite came into use which was a Godsend to this district. If we can get gelignite at cost price I consider that this place will soon be open up. We cannot buy it now. If we can get 30s. per case we can do a lot more development. I think the Government should get it cheaper than 30s. The middlemen are getting all the profit out the sale of gelignite.

10949. Are the dingoes bad down here?—Yes we are very much troubled with them. I have lost a good deal owing to the wild dogs. Mr Rose must have lost thousands of pounds worth of stock in the last two years. We do what we can to get rid of them. They will get over any fence almost, and I consider that the Government should continue to pay a good bonus for their destruction. The famer is prepared to subscribe to this tax and will form vermin boards. The dogs are destroying calves and foals also. It is almost ruinous to turn your stock out. Another thing , I think the Government should supply grass seed free of charge together with manure for cultivation. If we could get four or five plots in the district it would be an object lesson to settlers. The state Farm at Brunswick is no use to us. The conditions are different here. These plots could be supervised by the departmental inspectors. In regard to the Agricultural Bank, I have not dealt with them myself but there are men who have borrowed money with which they have fenced the whole of their holdings. This country is no good for grazing and these men have been paying interest on the money borrowed for all this fencing which has returned them nothing. If they had sufficient money to fence ten acres only there would be some reason in it. If that was a failure there is very little loss as compared with the loss where the whole of the holding has been fenced.

10950.By Mr. PAYNTER: Reverting again to the question of dogs—what means do you take to destroy them?—Trapping and poisoning. I consider that it is impracticable, however, to produce the strip from the nose to the tail in order to claim the reward. All that should be require is the tail. A practical man can tell a dingo tail from that of another dog. The dingo tail has both very fine and very coarse hair, and the tame dogs hair is all fine. People will not hurt for dingoes now, as after a dog has been poisoned for a day you cannot get near him. The tail is all right but the strip required from the body has been destroyed from decomposition. This regulation should be altered.

10951. By Mr. VENN: In regard to the formation of compulsory vermin board, do you believe in this?—Yes, certainly, I consider that all roads board should be formed into one big board. One small board here and there is no good. There have been calves killed about 100 yards from my house. Referring to the dairying question again I am sorry I did not start this industry before. I have a big family and not have to pay anything for labour. I am quite satisfied with this as a good dairying district, and would advise settlers to go right away into dairying as I know of no land that can beat this. The Government used to lend bulls at one time to dairy farmers. If the Government could place three good bulls in this district we could breed good herds. The bulls now used are no good at all.

10952. To Mr. VENN I went to the state Farm some little time ago to get a bull, but for the reason that the bulls were sold by public auction they fetched a lot more then their real value. The ordinary farmer cannot buy at the prices realised, as a wealthy man can outbid him every time. The State farm should be for the benefit of the country generally and not for the benefit of few.

10953. By Mr. PAYNTER: How are the new settlers getting on?—Some of them are making good headway. Other are making a mess of things. Those that follow sound advice that is given them by the older settlers are doing well. I consider that, instead of having Agricultural Bank inspectors, the Government should pick men with local experience to instruct these settlers in the proper methods also any one applying for Agricultural Bank assistance should be supported in his local resident.

10954. By Mr. VENN: Is there any land available in this district ?— There is some very good land 30 miles away. Close in the timber country block settlement.

10955.By Mr. PAYNTER: Are you satisfied with your position?—Yes. I consider my position is satisfactory as I started with nothing. I have never borrowed a shilling and am in a good position to-day. If we could get gelignite at 30s. a case we could clear the best country at from £20 to £30s per acre. This is a fair average.

(The witness retired)

JAMES CASEY, Farmer, Manjimup, sworn and examined:

10956. To Mr. PAYNTER: I have been seven years in this district. I hold 200 acres, of which 160 is homestead and 40 C. P. It is three miles from the railway, all fenced and I have ploughed 22 acres of it . I have sufficient buildings, five acres of orchard and about 3½ acres of potato land. I have three milking cows, four calves, a bull, two pigs and one horse.

10957. By Mr. PAYNTER: Have you any objection to telling the Commission what capital you started with?—Well, I really cannot say what capital I had to commence with. I have obtained assistance from the Agricultural Bank. That institution gave me all the assistance I required. They have certainly been good to me. I consider it is an ideal institution. I did not borrow unless I was compelled to but the bank was prepared to give me all money I wanted.

10958. By MR VENN: What do you consider your country is best adapted for?— My land is