gone in for poultry for the market, and I do not employ labour. Two or three years ago 20 hours out of 24 we were water carrying. Now it takes nine or ten hours every day. No man should hold here less than 600 acres, and the maximum area he could crop himself is 300 acres. Co-operation among farmers would be an advantage, such as a co-operative store or mill. In normal times no doubt land rents would be all right, but not at the present time, as we are not in a position to pay them, and I think every man should have five year's exemption from rent.

6302. To Mr. VENN: I do not go in for dairying, and have only a few cows, but I shall go in for sheep later on. It would be a great advantage if the Government would supply the right men with ewes on extended terms—in fact, farming is no good without sheep. During my seven year's residence I have only seen one dingo, although I have heard they are numerous further out.

6303. To Mr. CLARKSON: If the farmers' liabilities to the agricultural institutions were funded and repayments spread over five years, it would be an excellent scheme, and I would prefer it to the present scheme.

(The witness retired)

EDWARD BONNEY, Farmer, Pithara, sworn and examined:

6304. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been here about six years, and have been a farmer all my life, in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, farming and stock raising. I hold about 1,000 acres and the property is 2½ miles from Pithara. I have two wells of permanent good stock water, but no dams, as the catchment is insufficient. My wells are 49 and 50 feet deep respectively. I have cleared 300 acres, and erected 4½ miles of fencing, 500 acres are enclosed. I am a married man with a family. My house is of iron and bush timber. My stables are of brush wood, and I have no machinery shed. I have five working horses, but no other livestock. I have all necessary farming plant.

6305. To Mr. CLARKSON: Three hundred acres are in crop, but there is no fallow. I have never had fallow, although I believe in it, and would fallow if I could get enough land cleared. The highest yield over the whole area under crop is 16 bushels per acre over 300 acres. Seven or eight bushels should pay expenses of putting in and taking off a crop. A man would do very well with an average of 15 bushels. The present method is not farming, but scratching it in. A man would require at least 600 acres here, 300 for fallow and 300 for crop, and every year he should fallow 300 and work the ground into a proper state, so that he could rely on a fair return for the following year; otherwise, this being a dry district, farming could not pay. So far as bulk handling is concerned, if there were appliances at each siding and suitable lorries constructed, costs might be diminished, but even with bulk handling we shall still have to use bags to a certain extent. There should be a reduction effected in the present duties. The farmer should not be called upon to pay high duties in order to put money into the pockets of the manufacturers of machinery, who have had a high protective tariff for many years. They should go on their own and give us fellows, who have been building up business for them, a chance.

6306. By the CHAIRMAN: Do you think you could make a success of farming here?—Yes, provided I got assistance to a certain extent, so that I could get enough land cleared to enable me to farm in a systematic manner. If the Board is really desirous of assisting, it should provide 600 acres of cleared land and make it a condition that the farmer should fallow 300 acres. That condition should be made compulsory. I would not fix a price upon acreage, because some varieties of land would cost a great deal more to clear than others. If land is worth, say, 30s. an acre to clear and is inspected by a competent official, it should pay the department to advance the 30s. to clear that land. If men could be assisted in a systematic way to clear their land they would be able to help themselves afterwards, and the Government should finance them to clear it. If the clearing is worth 20s. an acre, pay him 20s.; if it is worth 30s. an acre, pay him 30s. It is better to pay the man than have him standing idle with a useless lot of land that is not in a productive state. I am chairman of the Farmer and Settler's Association here, and the question of rent has been brought up at our meetings. The majority are of opinion that it should be deferred for a number of years. I think that a scheme to fund our liabilities and extend the repayments over a period of years would be of very great assistance, particularly if the rents were tacked on at the end of the period. They would probably charge interest on the deferred payments, and no one could object to that. It would have the effect of giving them a better heart to go on. If a man is assisted in a practical way he will, if he is a good man, come out all right. They should be assisted to make money themselves, and this can be done if there is a clear run. A good man would stop here and succeed; a bad man would go out. There is another matter—that of buildings. Some provision should be made for better buildings for our wives and families. I would suggest assistance up to about £150 to erect batt houses, which are very comfortable and would answer the purpose until the settler was in a good position. There is great discontent at the manner in which families are housed here, and a comfortable home would make all the difference. Many men in my own experience have left the land because their wives were discontented with the conditions. I have seen it in Other States, and yet under the Workers' Homes Act a worker in the city can secure a house worth £550 on a very long and easy terms. A man on the land cannot rent a house, and if any man is worth of having a house built for him surely it is the man on the land. The repayment for its erection could be spread over a number of years. this is as important a matter as having an adequate area of land cleared.

(The witness retired.)

HENRY WESTROP ANDERSON, Farmer, Melrose, Pithara, sworn and examined:

6307. To the CHAIRMAN: I have been settled in this district for six years, and was brought up on a farm in Victoria and following blacksmithing and engineering before coming here. I took up 1,731 acres: half of it is first class forest, and the balance would all grow wheat. The average price when I took it up, for one block, was 15s., and for the other 13s., an equal area in each block. I have to cart seven miles to the nearest siding. I did not have a look at the