roMMi i \iiiuci i.n UK. 



19\9.] 



MR. L. N. GOOMV. 





9457. I am a farmer myself, and I would not like 

 thu sut-ment "I \uurs to go before tin- Coin mission 

 M boiuj; m any way NpnMOtatfa of tin- farming 

 induitry in Kngland K % nerally? Certainly n..t. hut 

 it is rt-prwenUtive of land of a similar c,a-.s m the 

 distr. 



9458. I should think the owners of this land would 

 h glad to give it to the State to cut up for small 

 holdings or something of that sort!- Oh no; u i- m, 

 u*o for small holding*. 



9469. Are there no small holdings in your >\i- 

 No, the land is not good enough for small holding. 



0460. Hare not your County Councils inaugurated 

 any scheme of small holdings on land in the district? 



\.,. they have not. 



9461. Arc they going to put any discharged service 

 men on to the 'land round about ? No, not in this 

 district; it is quite unsuitable. 



9462. Do farmers remain in your district long or 

 do thev farm f>r n time and leave quickly and go to 

 some better district I- They manage to stop there, a 

 good many of them, and make a living; they manage. 

 to live, but they do not got much return on their 

 capital. 



9463. Your farm is above the average size, is it 

 not? Yes, I should say it would be rather bigger 

 than most of them. 



9464. If you can only make so small a profit on a 

 farm of so many acres managed on the best lines 

 with unlimited capital and resources, how are the 

 tenant farmers going to make a living on smaller 

 farms? I do not know how they are able to live, 

 but they manage to exist. 



9465. I submit to you that these figures are not 

 representative of farming on the best land in your 

 district? With regard to similar land, I know "it is 

 representative. I have seen the accounts of farmers 

 who are farming a similar class of land and they 

 show similar returns. 



9466. What do you suggest the Government of the 

 day should do to assist you and neighbouring farmers 

 farming on similar land in that district!' That is 

 a very hard question; I hardly know what to suggest; 

 I do not think I would like to express an opinion on 

 that. 



9467. I)o you agree with me that for your land 

 and land of a similar class there is a hopeless 

 prospect for fanning in the future? No, not alto- 

 gether; there are several thousands of acres of this 

 class of land in Norfolk, and my suggestion is that 

 tho prices of produce should in some way be fixed 

 I cannot tell you how exactly so that farmers farm- 

 ing this class of land should be able to live. 



9468. Supposing the Government were prepared to 

 do something for farmers generally which would enable 

 you to live in the future and pay high wages wages 

 giving a proper value to the labourer would you 

 agree with mo that other farmers in Kngland would 

 become fabulously rich? No, I should not, because 

 the expenses on the other class of land are much 

 higher. 



9469. In what way are the expenses, we will say, 

 on a heavy class of land more than yours? They 

 would be much heavier than our expenses, but their 

 returns, of course, would bo larger. 



9470. Supposing the Government gave a guarantee 

 in the case of wheat of 100s. a quarter, would you 

 then be able to make a reasonable protn I We could 

 grow wheat on our best land at 100s. a quarter and 

 get a profit. The cost of growing an acre, of wheat 



n this land, as I show in my returns, is 41s. lid. a 

 combe, and if you gave a guarantee of 60s. a combo 

 wo would get a profit 



9471. Mr. Ltnnard: Do these cost* of production 

 which you give " pages 7 and onwards refer to land 

 on other farms than those two in resect of which 

 you have given the balance sheets!'- Yes. the 

 production is sui>|xx<pd to lie typical for the county, 

 it is an average cost. 



9472. It is not nn account of the cost kept in a 

 ledger, but an. estimate? Yes, but these have been 

 gone through by a committee of farmers with me 

 for the purpose of producing them bore, and they 



in the opinion of that committee, an average 

 producing each crop on each different class of 

 kind. 



'.'I7:t. They are estimates P Yes. 



'.M7 1 Y<m' give an estimate for the cost of growing 

 an acre of wheat on various types of land!' Yes. 



Of course, this cost covers the production of 

 straw as well as the production of the wheat, and 

 tli,. i,. i I i" \ou it is hardly fair, is it. to 



compare this rosi with the guaranteed price of wheat 

 4inlv!'--It is very unusual to sell much straw off 

 these farms, .-xcept in the case of those farms which 

 are situated near a large town. The straw remains 

 on the farm in most cases and got* back to the land 

 in tho shape of manure. 



9476. It is not the whole of your .straw that goes 

 back to the land in the shape of manure, is it? 

 Tho greater part of it; we hardly ever sell any straw. 



9477. Have you not any thatched buildings or 

 cottages? Very few now. 



9478. There is the thatching on your stacks? That 

 goes hack into the yard after it has 1 n used. 



c .i 17'.). All this service to the other operations of the 

 farm is performed by the field of wheat, is it not, 

 and surely something should be credited to the wheat 

 field for these services which the straw performs to 

 the other farm operations? You mean a proportion 

 of tho value of the straw should be credited to the 

 wheat crop? 



9480. Yes? Possibly a small part should be. 



'.'1*1. Do the figures you give for rent ill the 

 balance sheet include the rent of a dwelling-house? 



9482. I mean, does your cost of production, which 

 is an average one, include the rent of the dwelling- 

 house on the farm!' Yes. it would be occupied by the 

 farmer or his foreman. In most cases these houses 

 are occupied by the working foremen on the farms. 



9483. It is unusual, is it not, in business to count 

 the rent of the business man's house as part of his 

 cost of production ? One usually regards the rent of 

 one's house as something on which you spend part . f 

 your income, and not as part of the cost of production 

 in obtaining the income? You have to pay it out; 

 it is part of the outgoings of the farm, is it not? 



9484. Yes; but that would equally apply to tho 

 farmers' own food and clothes? I take it if a grocar 

 hired a shop and he lived over the shop, the rent of 

 the shop would be included us part of the expenses 

 of the busini 



9485. Yes, b.ut there is a difference between the 

 rent of the farm buildings and the rent of the 

 dwelling-house, is there not? It is all part and parcel 

 of the farm. 



9486. I admit it is difficult to detach it, but that 

 should be recognised when one is making out the cost 

 of production? I do not quite agree. I think the 

 total rent of the farm what the farmer pays for the 

 farm divided by the number of ai-n-s gives a fair 

 estimate, as near as you can get it. of the cost of 

 each acre of land for rent. 



9487. You do not think anything should be 

 deducted for the fact that he gets a dwelling-honse? 

 I do not see why it should. 



9488. You would not expect any other businesses 

 to get the rent of the dwelling-house allowed as part 

 of the cost of production, would you? A great many 

 do, do they not? 



9489. I should hardly have thought so. Is then 

 much game preserving in your district? Not 



essivcly. 



9490. There is a good deal? Not very much at the 

 present time. The game on these farms has always 

 been kept down within reasonable bounds. I may 

 say, with reference to the ground game, it is always 

 killed practically the whole of the year; it is not 

 allow eil to overrun the farms at all. Kvery means 

 is taken to proteel the crops from the game. 



I'liil. Does that apply to the light hind of Norfolk 

 generally? In most cases I should soy it does. 

 There are a few farms w here the game is a nuisance 

 to the farmer no doubt, but, as a rule, it is kept 

 within bounds. 



