six feet deep. I value my improvements at £450. The present will be my third crop. In the first year I got 7cwt. to the acre off 20 acres. That was poor fallow. Last year I got 20 tons of hay from 20 acres, and 145 bags of wheat from 40 acres. I used 56 lbs. of super. and 50 lbs. of seed. Forty acres were fallowed and 20 were not fallowed. This year I have 65 acres in crop, being 20 acres of Alpha, five acres of Federation, 25 acres of Comeback, and 15 acres of Yandilla King. I expect to reap about 12 bushels. I have eight horses, a cow, and a calf, three goats and 15 pigs. I have had £100 from the Agricultural Department. I think I could make a living on this land if I could fence and get stock in addition to wheat growing. I would have sheep for preference. They would have to be yarded at night or wire netted. I have not grown any oats. I have grown rye and swedes and turnips for the pigs. I believe all this land should be worked on a dry farming system, although last year I got as good a crop off unfallowed as from fallowed land. I have been farming all my life in England and in New Zealand. I worked on a big mixed farm in Buckinghamshire, and I had charge of a dairy farm in New Zealand. I do not think dairying could be carried on successfully here. A few cows for the house might be all right.

287. By Mr. PADBURY : Does your country respond after ring-barking ?—Yes, the grass has come well. There is a market at Norseman for stock. Sheep or cattle could travel there in good condition. The holding capacity of my dam is good. I have not discovered any salt. my block is three-quarters of a mile from the railway survey.

287a. By Mr. McDONALD : What area of salmon gum, have you—I have 300 acres of salmon gum, the balance is mallee. I have had better results from the salmon gum than from the mallee. It takes about four ploughings to get rid of the mallee stumps. The best kind of plough for mallee is the disc, first to cut the roots, with the mould board to follow.

(The witness retired.) JAMES TOWNSEND, aged 54, Farmer, East Grass Patch, married, four sons, one daughter, ages 16 to 30, sworn and examined :

288. By the CHAIRMAN : What land do you hold ?—I have 1,000 acres Conditional Purchase, Loc.46. I have had previous experience of farming in Victoria, 20 years ago. I took up my land in 1910. I have 240 acres cleared, of which 220 have been cultivated. This year I have 130 acres in crop. I have a dam of 908 yards and two smaller ones, all full of fresh water. I have a stable and shed with iron roofs. Twenty acres are fenced in with two and three wires. There is a small house with iron roof. The dam cost me £60 or £70 ; the clearing cost 10s. for rolling, and 15s. to finish the clearing, house and sheds I value at £40 or £50 and the fencing at £10. I estimate the total value of the improvements at £420. I have had five crops including the first of five acres. I have been living on the farm for three years. The first and second crops were put in by a man I had on the place. The second was about 60 acres. Last year I had 150 acres in crop, some of which was very good, and some very bad where the rust got in. In one place I got 12 bushels to the acre and 15 cwt. of hay, over 32 acres, equalling 24 tons. The average for wheat was a little over eight bushels off 126 acres. Federation did well, but Alpha and Bunyip were badly rusted. I used a bushel of Federation to the acre. Of the others I sowed a bushel and a quarter with 56 lbs. of super. I took some of the wheat to Norseman and some to Esperance ; I sold it for provisions. Some I still have on the farm. This year I have 130 acres in crop, consisting of 12 acres of oats, and the balance of wheat, Federation, Alpha, and Bunyip. It all looks very well. I estimate it will yield 10 bushels.

289. What we saw of it should yield more than that ?—Provided it gets a drop of rain it will. My estimate is a safe one. I have had assistance from the Industries Assistance Board to the extent of approximately £175, exclusive of rent. I cannot say exactly how much, not having had any account. I have not paid them anything. I paid rents and interest for the first two years. The Industries Assistance Board have paid them since. I have seven head of cattle. They are doing well. I have 10 pigs and six horses. This year's crop is all on freshly ploughed land.

290. Do you not think that all land should be fallowed and worked on the dry farming system ?—Yes, the fallow yields better crops. I am satisfied that I could make a living on the land but not under present conditions. With a railway I could make a good living. I am perfectly satisfied with both the land and the rainfall. Even if the railway does not come, I do not think I shall shift. I have spent a good deal of money and now have a fair start and I think I can make a living. I have had a good deal of difficulty in getting assistance from the Industries Assistance Board. I have been harassed a good deal in getting super. The year before last I had to borrow super. Mine did not come to hand until I had practically finished sowing. This year I had the same difficulty notwithstanding that I was one of the first to make application. It was to have been delivered in March but in the middle of May I received a letter asking if I got the super. In the meantime I had secured super from Norseman at considerable inconvenience. When I came here I brought down 11 horses. Four of them have died. I was running the mail here for some time. When I came on to the farm I turned out the horses to give them a spell. Four of them died, possibly as the result of poison. Dingoes are very bad out my way. My holding is about five miles from the railway survey. I had to pay tremendous freights on my machinery. I brought it through Norseman and I believe the Esperance route is far more costly than the Norseman. I got my binder from Massey Harris on bills, but all my other machinery is from the State Implement Works. The best way to break up the mallee land after it is first cleared is with the stump-jump mould board plough.

291. By Mr. PADBURY : What do you intend doing with what you have left of last year's wheat ?—Take some to Norseman and some to Esperance. After paying for the carting I expect to get 1s. 3d. per bushel net. Very fair grasses grow on the cleared paddocks when they are thrown out. There is lots of land in the district similar to mine. The rabbits do not seem to do much damage. This year's crop of oats was sown on the 3rd April and the wheat was sown on the 6th April. The oats near the house were sown on the 15th April and the wheat outside was sown in June. My Federation wheat was sown in