MINUTES OF KVIDEXCK. 



115 



3 September, 1919.] 



MR. FALCONER L. WALLACE. 



[Continued. 



Some farmers make some income from business out- 

 si'lo actual farming, such as buying and selling, 

 dealing, and by valuing. 



8700. Economical Size of Holdings. It is the opin- 

 ion of many good farmers, and 1 strongly share it 

 myself, that farms of 400 acres and over are more 

 economical to work than smaller ones, for the follow- 

 ing reasons: In a small farm, if such an operation as 

 threshing is in progress, it entails a temporary sus- 

 pension of most of the other operations on the farm 

 while all hands are gathered for the threshing; this 

 means idle horses, whereas on a larger farm emplo}-- 

 ing more hands, threshing and other operations can 

 be carried on simultaneously and the horses are not 

 idle. Another advantage which the larger farm has 

 over the smaller one is that where an operation has 

 been delayed on account of weather, or it is desired 

 to take special advantage of the weather, it is possi- 

 ble on the larger farm to concentrate a larger number 

 of hands on a particular operation. 



On the other hand, the largest sizes of farms, say, 

 farms of over about 1,000 acres, should generally bo 

 discouraged, because, firstly, on a very large farm 

 there is a tendency to farm sketchily not sufficiently 

 intensively ; and, secondly, there is a huge demand 

 for farms that are capable of being made to pay, and 

 if one man or one company is allowed to concentrate 

 too much land in his or its own hands, it means that 

 one person or company is making a profit where two 

 people should bo doing so. At the same time, to dis- 

 courage farming on a fairly large scale would be im- 

 prudent, as it would, in the first place, repress reason- 

 able ambition, and, in the second place, the more 

 well-to-do farmers are the backbone of the agricul- 

 tural industry, and, on the whole, provide the beet 

 conditions for agricultural labourers. 



8701. Systems of Farming. The samples given in 

 this report cover three distinct classes of farming. 

 The style of farming in the Border Counties is very 

 similar to the Scottish system ; the rotation of crops 

 is the same, with the exception that in the English 

 Counties it ia the universal custom to keep a. small 

 piece of permanent " cow pasture," whereas, in the 

 North, our grasses are in' the arable districts all 

 rotation grasses. In the Border Counties oats are 

 the principal corn crop, as in Scotland. 



The style of farming covered by Series I.* is en- 

 tirely different, and is typical of a great part of 

 England. Referring, as it does, to the Midland it 

 is, at the same time, typical of counties whero mixed 

 farming is carried on outside the Midland area. 



It is not typical of the Eastern Counties of England, 

 where other [ vstems exist. 



In South Durham and in Yorkshire a system of 

 farming is carried on which is halfway between tho 

 Border county and the Midland systems. 



The North Hiding is tho only portion of Yorkshire 

 from which, within the limited time allotted to the 

 inquiry, it was possible to draw samples. They in- 

 elude farms in the Dales. Tho wolds unfortunately 

 were not visited. 



8702. Increase in Farming Expenses. In consider- 

 ing tho present position of the farming industry, it 

 may be borne in mind that, while the prices of farm 

 produce are virtually the same in 1919 as in 1918, 

 many of the costs of production have sensibly in- 

 treased. 



The cost of increased wages is not the only item. 

 Tradesmen's bills, such as blacksmiths', have gone up 

 until they form a considerable item. Replacements of 

 carts and implements are far more costly. Farm- 

 work horses are dearer. In short, everything that is 

 bought to carry on the working of a farm has gone 

 up during the past few months from 15 per cent, to 

 43 per cent, increase. The 1918-19 profits, which I 

 have not yet seen, must certainly be lower than in 

 previous years. 



' ' " ' "/ Equipping n Farm. Whereas, before 



the war. 10 per acre was sufficient capital to 



equip any farm thoroughly, about 17 per acre is now 



required, and it will, if the present ratio of increase 



maintained, soon require considerably more. 



R704. Amount nf Labour Employed. In tho ex- 

 amples which are given, tho amount of labour is 



* See Tables in Appendix No. V. 





probably rather understated in counties where casual 

 labour is employed to any considerable extent, because 

 the records of the amount of casual labour employed 

 are generally either not kept with accuracy or are 

 inaccessible. 



8705. The Most Prosperous Farm Workers. Prob- 

 ably the most prosperous farm workers in Great 

 Britain are (1) tho Cumberland men, who board and 

 lodge with the farmers, and live generally as one of 

 the family. They are splendid workers. A very con- 

 siderable percentage of the farmers in Cumberland 

 started as farm labourers. (2) In the Eastern 

 Counties of the North of Scotland, where single men's 

 wages range at the present time up to 190 per 

 annum, say, 3 13s. per week, including the value of 

 allowances. (3) lu the Fen districts of Lincolnshire 

 and its borders, where the farm workers are also 

 virtually smallholders, though not in the technical 

 sense under the Act; but the farm workers there 

 hardly devote sufficient time to their employers' 

 interest. 



8706. Workers Housing and Gardens The housing 



of the farm vorkers, except on certain private estates, 

 is extremely bad all oVer England, and it is much worse 

 in Scotland. Gardens in England as a source of food 

 supply and pleasure are quite inadequate, and allot- 

 ments, which are generally sufficient, do not take their 

 place. In Scotland gardens are not encouraged, and 

 the workers do not have time to enjoy them. As a 

 source of food supply they are less necessary than in 

 England to the workers, as in Scotland abundance 

 of vegetables are grown for the worker by the farmer. 

 But as a source of recreation they ought to be 

 encouraged. 



8707. Inadequacy of Farm Steadings. In very many 

 parts of the country the farm steadings are inade- 

 quate, or ill suited to their purpose. Unless prices of 

 farm produce, and therefore farm profits, are main- 

 tained, it will not be possible for farmers to pay the 

 hi^h rate of interest that landlords will be forced to 

 charge upon their outlays in improvements at present- 

 day costs. 



[This concludes the evidence-in-chief.]1f 

 Chairman: I will ask Mr. Green to begin to put 

 question^. 



8708. Mr. Green: With regard to tho economic 

 size of holdings, do you share Sir Thomas Middleton's 

 opinion, that a number of 100-acre farms should be 

 developed at the expense of 300-acre farms? I do 

 not quite understand. 



8709. Chairman : Have you seen Sir Thomasi Middle- 

 ton's evidence? No. I have not. 



8710. Mr. Green: I think you referred in your evi- 

 dence to your idea of a farm about 400 acres. It 

 bears upon that point-' If I may correct you, I have 

 said it is more economical for a farm to be 400 acres 

 or over than under 400 acres. 



8711. I merely asked your opinion whether you 

 think it would be more economical, and better for the 

 nation, to have more 100-acre farms at the expense 

 of the 300-acre farms by reducing tho 300-acre farms? 

 I do not know how to answer that question. 1 

 do not think I could possibly answer it off-hand. It 

 is not a question to which I have had my attention 

 directed. 



8711A. Is it your opinion that the worst cultivated 

 farms arc those of about 150 acres? No, I do not 

 think so. My experience was that the worst culti- 

 vated farms are those which are much smaller than 

 that under 100 acres. 



8712. You consider the Cumberland men, who are 

 boarded and lodged by tho farmers, are probably the 

 most prosperous labourers in Great Britain? Yes. 



8713. Some people have imagined from this, and the 

 high wages they get in comparison with tho southern 

 counties, that tho Cumberland farm workers do not 

 desire smallholdings. I take, it that is not true, as 1 

 notice in Mr. Maurice Hewlett's figures there are 

 3831 holdings under 50 acres in Cumberland, and only 



f In addition to the above, Mr. Wallace submitted 

 the Notes, Reports and Statistics which are contained 

 or referred to in Appendix No. V. 



,SVc pago 53. " Wages and Conditions of Em- 

 ployment in Agriculture," Vol. II., Reports of Investi- 

 gators (Cmd. 25). 



H 3 



