MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



41 



17 September, 1919.] 



MR. H. ARMOUR and MR. G. G. MERCER. 



[Continued. 



TABLE No. 2 continued. 



Ettimated cott in 1918 of Wheat. Barley. Oatt. 



& t. d. & t. d. & 3. d. 



Cost, as per No. 1 Table 1015 3 10 15 3 1015 3 



Dung exhaustion 2 10 150 100 



Artificial manures 1 10 1 10 200 



Seed 200 1 15 1 17 6 



Binder Twine 060 040 050 



Threshing, etc 10 10 10 



Thatching, etc 050 050 050 



17 16 3 16 4 3 16 12 9 

 Credit straw ... 476 2 4 330 



Net cost per acre 13 8 9 14 3 13 9 9 



Cost per quarter in 1918 53*. 9<f. 56*. 45*. 



Ettimated cott in 1919 of Wheat. Barley. Oatt. 



& t. d. t. d. .'. <i. 



Cost per acre as per No. 1 Table 1116 6 11 16 6 1116 6 



Dung exhaustion 2 10 1 10 100 



Artificial manures ~1 10 150 250 



Seed 200 1 16 1 17 6 



Bindr twine 060 040 050 



Threshing, fuel, twine, and machinery 10 10 10 



Thatching straw, ete. (only) 050 060 060 



18 17 6 17 5 6 17 19 



Credit itraw 476 240 376 



Net cost per acre 14 10 15 1 6 14 11 6 







Cost per quarter in 1919 68*. 60*. 3d. 48* Id. 



1913. 1919. 



NOTE. Wheat per acre 5 qn., Straw 35 cwts. ; Price 40*. 50*. 



Barley 6 22 35*. W*. 



Oats 6 27 40*. 50*. 



(Thii concludes the evidence-in-chief.) 



10.093. Mr. Edwards : Looking at your evidence-in- 10,097. Are you of opinion that the price for the 

 chief, I should like first of all to have a statement as 5 years should be fixed at the beginning of the period 

 to the character of the Scottish Chamber of Agricul- of o years every 5 years, or yearly, or in what way? 

 ture. IB it representative of Scotland as a whole. We are of opinion that the prices ought to be 

 and what is the constitution of the Chamber? fixed 'each year, and that they ought to be fixed in 

 (Mr. Mercer): It is one of our leading agricul- September; that is, before we arrange to grow the 

 tural societies in Scotland, its members are drawn crop, and that you should proceed now to fix a 

 from every part of the country members who farm minimum price for grain, and then that there 

 in all the different styles of agriculture known in should be a Committee appointed to deal with each 

 Scotland and in addition to the membership we o f the succeeding four years. 



have affiliated with us farmers' cluba and agricul- 1Q QQQ A minimum price, did you say? A mini- 



tural associations throughout the whole of Scotland, mum pr jce. 



so that in both ways we can get in touch with agn- 10,099. In the part of the world that I come from 



culture throughout the whole of Scotland. we are y^fiy tenants, and I should like to know 



10.094. In paragraph 4 of your ev.dence you refer whet her it j/ ^ same in Scotland, or otherwise? 

 to the greater cost of working the green crop and of No j thjnk W<J are mostly on u years' leases now ; 

 the benefit accruing to succeeding gram Crops, and jt Ufied ^ be a 19 years' lease, but it has been 

 you say you will explain your views as to i changed, and it is usually 14 years now. Sometimes 

 should like to have that explanation, please? (Mr. t\ loto ^ a break at the end of 5 years, or it may be at 

 Armour) : We deal only with three crops, namely, the t(le en( j of 7 yeare . Of course, that just amounts to 

 cereal crops. There are three other crops winch we a 5 O r 7 years' lease, but as a rule these 14 year*:' 

 do not deal with in these estimates, namely, the pota- i easeB are no t very often discharged. 



toes, the turnips and the hay crop. In working the 1Q IQQ ^ that ^ practice generally in Scotland 



hay crop there is not the same expense that there ia js f< ^ ^. farmer to be secured for a term? During 



attached to the working of the cereal crop. Therefore currency of his lease. 



we think that a proportion of the expense oughi ' . evidence-in-chief the 



be put to the potato crop on account of the great 10,101. <>u ^^ l AoM like to have 



additional labour required for the crop. In 1 1 . further developed ?_ jOf 



way we want to equalise between the , > J~ praobicaUy getting a day 



On the other hand the cereal crops benefit 7T a, ^ Qur JJ than we * ^ - n 1913 



terially from green cropping; indeed is almost H conditions are more onerous now in the 



essential if you want ix> have gram crops of ( , rap i oyme nt of labour. I believe we do not get the 



quality and quantity to have green crops and , f u if J^ure of work that we engage for; the ten- 



the land. Therefore we think that as these crops : ^ ^ rather ^ kn<)ck off a few mmutes befoTe 



inter-dependent upon one another w might take the ^ proper time of stopping, and in addition to 



cost as very much smaller in all cases. ^^ mea j ^ours have been added. These things 



10.095. You mention here the prices that woi; have intemlpte( j tfc e working of the farm labour, 

 required to meet the cost of production without pr< ^ ;t ^ a BeT { ous consideration for farmers who 

 viding for any profit, 58s. a quarter for wnea <x)d m& horses to loge a day in the week 

 60s. 3d. for barley, and 48s. 9d. for oate. Those are ^ ^ Jjj of t j^ fr horses -^^ your fi elds are 

 your figures shewing the cost of production prs distance away from the steading it is a very 

 cally without any profit at all on these various crops: ^ ^ ^ t{me bpcauge you have to send your 



-Yes. horses out to these distant fields and you have a 



lO.fKHJ. KurU,,r.on you say: "It g^,,"| jb^Sr time to do the work in. All that militate- 



to confine the period of guarantee to 1920- aeainst the farm work. In addition, tlie men r 



how long a period do you think the guaranteed price work overtlme unleB8 they are 



hould be given? Five years, I think. 



