will pay and for area one requires a good team. I have had assistance form the Agricultural Department. There is no salt on my block. Bell's dam is of 670 yards; it is full of fresh water. I cleared my land by rolling and burning. Not until the last two years was it ploughed. We first started sowing a bushel, but we have determined that it is too heavy. We use 60lbs. of super. I have a stump jump plough, disc harrows, drag harrows, and a hand chaff-cutter with one horse. I get my land worked mostly by contract.

311. By Mr. PADBURY: What was your occupation before coming here?—Mining. My present crop was sown in the early part of June. I have in Yandilla King at present. I think it is about the best. My ground is not wet except in the depressions.

312. By Mr. McDONALD: Is your land like this around us?—No, it is quite different. It is much stronger and more undulating. I have some big black mallee. The country west is very dense and higher than this.

312A. Were any samples of soils for analysis taken from your land?—No.

(The witness retired.)

WILLIAM HENRY GRIGG, aged 23, farmer, West Scaddan, sworn and examined:

313. By the CHAIRMAN: What land do you hold?—I have 500 acres of C.P., location 641, including a homestead. I was farm labouring in Victoria six or seven years ago, but not on mallee. I have not had much experience with stock. My brother holds 500 acres adjoining my block and we work together. We have two tanks, one of 750 yards, 9 feet deep, and the other about 250 yards, 6 feet 6 inches deep. Both are full of fresh water. The first was sunk four years ago and the smaller one three years ago. The water in the larger one has never been more than three feet down. We have 300 acres of rolling, of which 220 are cleared. We have weatherboard house and sheds. I took up the land about five years ago; the present will be the fourth crop. The tanks I value at £60, clearing at £220, rolling at £40, and the house and sheds at £00. We have 28 pigs, two head of cattle, and seven horses, one being a hack. In the dry year, our second, we had 42 tons of hay and some wheat and oats. Last year we had bad seed and stripped only about five bushels to the acre. The hay went 19cwt. by measurement. This year we have in 100 acres of wheat and 40 acres of oats, with a little more for feeding off. We used 45lbs. of super and 44lbs. of seed. We ploughed in all the crop. The wheat looks very fair. I expected to average nine or ten bushels. We have had assistance from the Agricultural Department: rents and interests are not fully paid up.Probably they are 18 months in arrears. We have not handed over anything to the Industries Assistance Board. The land is mortgaged to the department.

314. Do you think you can make a living on this land?—Yes. The returns will improve with fallowing and we are getting a bit of stock. I would prefer going on with it. We intend to carry on until we find something better. I had a little money when we came down here. We have done a good deal of contracting about here and that has all gone into our land. We find it difficult to pay our way out of the crops we have had. We have an engine and chaff-cutter, a corn crusher, a binder, a five-furrow stump jump mould board plough, disc harrows, and tyne harrows. All this has been paid for. We have also a tank sinking plough and scoop. The horses are all our own. As far as we know there is no salt on our blocks.

315. By Mr. PADBURY: At what time of the year do you sow your crops?—The present crop was sown at the end of May and early in June. We harrowed it before drilling. My brother and I live together and we have our mother with us. My contract work would not amount to more than a month in the year. I have put a few hundred pounds into the land. Our land is similar to other land in the locality. Early sown crops have always proved the best with us. I think we could make a living on farming along with no railway. We grow most of our living on the farm. For meat we have pork, fowls, and an occasional kangaroo.

(The witness retired.)

WILLIAM EDWARD JOHNSON BAKER, aged 50, farmer, West of 30-mile, widower, three boys and three girls, grown up—sworn and examined:

316. By the CHAIRMAN: What land do you hold in this district?—I have 1,000 acres C.P., exclusive of a homestead, Location 523. My son owns the adjoining block on the West. He works with me. I have had previous farming experience in Victoria. I came to Western Australia 1897. I was mining here for a good many years. I have been for six years on the land in this district. I have cleared 300 acres, but a lot of it has gone back. I have a dam of 660 yards. I have cultivated nearly 250 acres. Last year I had 120 acres ploughed and this year about 90 acres. The present will be the sixth crop. I took up my land in 1910. Save for going off to work I have lived on it ever since. I have not had very much success with the crops. The reason is that the stumps and suckers take the moisture. Last year being a wet year was the only successful one I have had. I cut 65 acres for 58 tons of hay, measured. The wheat averaged nine bushels. I used 70lbs. of super. and from 45lbs. to a bushel of seed. I tried seven different kinds of wheat. The three best were Turvey, Comeback. and Yandilla King. They gave a ton to the acre. Very little water lies on my ground. It is hilly country. This year I have 90 acres of crop, including 22 acres of oats. It looks well, but not as good as last year. I expect to cut 15cwt. of hay and strip eight or nine bushels of wheat. I have eight horses, a stripper, binder, drill, hand chaff-cutter, disc plough, disc harrows, and a mallee roller. I have done a good deal of contract work. This allowed me to stay on the farm. Each succeeding year is better on the farm. We have good grasses growing on the cleared land. If we had a railway to the market on the fields we could make a good living. There is no market for us through Esperance. The freight is too heavy. We must go in for mixed farming. We cannot profitably drive pigs 99 miles to Norseman. If there was sufficient wheat to induce boats to call at Esperance the railway to Esperance might be of benefit to us. On my binder I paid £11 18s. 10d. freight from Fremantle to Esperance by the State Steamer. Super. costs us