2nd Progress Report - Part 2

image 17 of 100

This transcription is complete

whereas in certain seasons we can only get 2s. to 3s. per case. They will keep a long time in cool storage. In regard to eggs, I would certainly suggest that the eggs should be placed on the list where the prices are fixed by the Commissioner. People are sending from this State to Adelaide for eggs to the detriment of the local producer. Of course, I recognise that this Commission cannot deal with such questions as this and am merely expressing the views of poultry keepers. (The witness retired).

HARRIE DAVIES, Orchardist, Coolup, sworn and examined.

11274. To the CHAIRMAN: I Have been 21 years on the land in this district. At the present time I have 55 acres, 9½ freehold and the balance C.P. It is three-quarters of a mile from the railway siding. I consider that the 9½ acres are first class land. It is all fenced and cleared, and all of that area has been under the plough. Nine acres are under orchard, planted to apples, apricots and peaches. I have a five roomed house, necessary buildings, a set of implements to work the land, and five horses. I started with £1,800 and at this time I had 1,300 acres, but I found that I was not doing any good with it. I had £270 when I came on to my present block; my progress since has been satisfactory. I borrowed £100 from the Agricultural Bank and £200 privately. This I paid back in four years. My living is derived from the orchard alone.

11275. To Mr. VENN: To what do you attribute your success?—I have always endeavoured to find out the best methods to follow and never undertook anything without finding out first what the results were likely to be.

11276. What is the nature of the soil?—My land is deep chocolate loam. There is a lot of land of this nature in the district. I am situated on the Murray River. The best returns I have received from seven acres of orchard is £800. This was from apples principally. The stone fruit I consider only a catch crop. The prices, of course, were good this year.

11277. By Mr. PAYNTER: Do you practice thinning your fruit?—Yes, to a very great extent. I cannot get a saleable crop without. Unless you take a lot of your fruit off it is almost unsaleable. You are, in fact, only working for someone else, unless you put the best stuff on the market. The result of following this practice is that I have a very good name on the market. A lot of my stuff is never opened in the market; the brand is sufficient guarantee.

11278. By Mr. CLARKSON: What proportion of your crop do you consider good saleable stuff?—Eighty per cent. but without thinning I should only get about 30 per cent.

11279. How do you work your orchard in the matter of cultivation?—I give it four ploughings during the year and cultivate every three weeks right through the summer. I spend about £50 per annum in fertilisers, that is for 7½ acres, and apply about one pound of fertiliser to each tree until they are five years old and then half a ton to the acre.

11280. To Mr. VENN: I consider this district is suitable for growing oranges. I have 13 orange trees. I sold 130 cases altogether from the 13 trees. This is an average of 10 cases per tree.

11281. By Mr. CLARKSON: Speaking generally of the district, do you consider it suitable for fruit growing?—The great proportion of it is. Once the water can be got off the land, the whole of the district is suitable for fruit, but the water lays so long here in places that large quantities of land are no good. Any portion of West Coolup, which is a poor class of country would produce fruit satisfactorily if the water was removed.

11282. By Mr. VENN: Is the Government drainage scheme sufficient?—No. It is not. There should be a comprehensive scheme by which a settler could drain into the channels. To-day they have only a channel about nine feet wide and the depth in the main would be about two feet. The depth that they first commenced on would be about two feet.

11283. By the CHAIRMAN: What do your apple trees average in yield?—Last year I had 2,400 cases of apples from about six acres. Five cases per tree would be about the average. Many of the trees are over 10 years.

11284. To Mr. PAYNTER: I prune very heavily. The varieties I grow are Yates, Roke-woods, and Jonathans. I do not follow the system of pruning practised in other States. I consider that by the way Mr. Moody would prune a tree you would get no fruit at all. For instance you want a long spur on the Yates. I have had 14 cases of Yates apples from one tree. Last year was supposed to be the heaviest crop known.

11285. By Mr. CLARKSON: What price do you consider would pay costs?—About 2s. 5d. per case would give a margin of profit. The cost would be from 2s. 3d. to 2s. 4d.

11286. Have you any trouble in securing suitable labour?—I have always been able to procure what I want, but I employ very little. I do my own pruning and packing. I consider that the orchardist should be able to get a suitable class of labour. The industry cannot afford to pay more than it is paying now. I consider that most men are only just making enough to make both ends meet. When I first came to the district I was paying 5s. per day. Now I have to pay 9s. a day for labour.

11287. By Mr. PAYNTER: Have the experts of the Department of Agriculture been any assistance to you?—No, I do not consider they are much good. I base my success on the fact that I have never been afraid to air my ignorance.

11288. The CHAIRMAN: I understand that the late Fruit Industries Comissioner planted an orchard in this district. Is it likely to be a success?—Yes I think so. It has really been done on my success. It is only one and a half miles from my place on the same side of the river.

11289. The CHAIRMAN: Expert evidence that we have obtained in regard to pulling out the orchard at Brunswick, is based on the argument that apples will never succeed in country which is not subject to frosts and the action of the department in grubbing out the orchard would infer that apples cannot be grown on these plains?—I do not agree with that. Mr. Wickens, the chief inspector of orchards, advises me that you cannot grow apples within a certain number of miles of the coast line. My success is a refutation of that idea. I am perfectly sure that apples can be grown six or seven