MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



.53 



17 September, 1-J19.] 



MK. H. AKMOUK and Mu. G. G. MEKCEK. 



[ Cuittiaueii. 



10.554. It does not matter which way you put it, 

 whether wages go with prices or prices go with wages. 

 In any case, as far as labour is concerned, you must 

 have a basic minimum below which they will never 

 fall. You are aware, I take it, that even when you 

 have a basic minimum in a sliding scale, that is 

 subject to change and in some cases a fairly big 

 change? Yes, of course. 



10.555. So that, in any case, the Scottish farmers 

 have to consider the very best ways of organising 

 their farms from their own point of view, whether 

 you get a guarantee or not, because you will always 

 have wages pressing you rather hardly? Of course a 

 farmer will farm his farm for profit. 



10.556. Mr. Batchelor: In your wages statement, 

 should you not put in the allowance for the houses 

 of the men? It is part of the rent of the farm, and 

 that is included in the rent. 



10.557. Yes; but it does not show exactly what you 

 are paying in the way of wages ? We considered that 

 we have it in as rent. 



10.558. Now to come to the question of rent, I 

 think you have already told us that the figures for 

 1918 and 1919 are not actually figures of your own 

 rent ? No. 



J0,.>59. Could you tell us what the actual figures 

 should be? Would 1 14s. Id. be the same? Yes. 



10,560. With regard to the potatoes that you put 

 in, I see in 1913 you put 50s. a ton. Was that sup- 

 posed to be the market value in 1913? Yes. 



1 i ) ."><;! . I happen to have the Board of Agriculture 

 for Scotland Returns here, and they show the average 

 price of main crop potatoes, other than red soil, for 

 1913, were 67s. a ton ?_ I took it at 50s. 



10.562. Then I see you have taken 1918 and 1919 

 as working out to 5s. a ton; so that that is mirier 

 market price? We have to supply the men when the 

 potatoes are lifted, so that I think the price there 

 might stand. 



10.563. In regard to your wages, do you drive coal 

 for your men? Yes, I do. 



10.564. And do you do the flitting of your married 

 men? We do. 



10,505. Of course I can understand you have not 

 put tin-in in, because they come under tin- working of 

 the farm; but from the point of view of the actual 

 wages that the men co;-t you, they should go in there? 

 Yes. 



10,666. Will you look at the item " National In- 

 surance and Workmen's Compensation " which you 

 have at 27 in 191W, and which you put up to 30 

 in 1919? Why do you put it up? -The wages 

 gone up, and it is 20. per 100, I think, that we 

 pay under the Workmen's Compensation Art. 



10.567. Then do your repairs ami general smith 

 work include all joiner's account? No, joinery comes 

 under the depreciation of implements. 



10.568. ,Have you any allowance at all in the event 

 of the death of a horse? Yes, I take that into the 

 depreciation of horses. 



10.569. You have depreciation of horses, 9s. per 

 acre on 374 acres, which comes to 168 6s. for 14 

 horses, which is 12 each. Is that sufficient to cover 

 deaths as well as depreciation I' I think it migi 

 sufficient. I do not think it is overstated ; lint at the 

 game time. I think it is a fair estimate. 



10.570. If you were buying a horse just now for your 

 farm, what would it cost? It might cost me 160. 



10.571. Do you think 12 is a sufficient amount 

 to cover the depreciation of that horse? [ think it 

 might stand at that. It is not high. 



l'i ")72. Now come to Table II. I would like to ask 

 you a question or two mi this matter of dung exhaus- 

 tion. You have told us the potatoes are dunged with 

 farmyard manure. What quantity do they get? It 



nally from 18 to 20 tons to the arre. 

 I0,.">7.'t. Have you any idea what price you are 

 putting against that? It is a very difficult thing to 

 -ii.o the price of dung. I believe it is costing the, 

 farmer just now a big sum. 



.4. What I want to know is, how do you get 

 the figure worker! out to 2 10s. ? I will tell you how 

 I took it. I took 15 for an acre of potatoes to 

 dung the land; and when you grow your potatoes 



there were two-thirds of that exhausted with the 

 potatoes. Then there is 5 to spread among the 

 other crops. 



10.575. That is going on the assumption that there 

 is no dung given to any other crop?- The wheat would 

 get it, and then the hay would follow ; but there is 

 no dung charged. 



10.576. That dung would have been made from the 

 straw? Yes. 



10.577. Do you observe that your only charge 

 against the wheat crop is 2 10s. for dung exhaustion, 

 but you give it credit for 4 7s. 6d. straw? Yes, the 

 market price. 



10.578. So that you have grown your wheat crop, 

 and instead of costing you anything for dung you 

 have 1 17s. 6d. in hand through your straw. How 

 do you get that? I have put down what I consider 

 the exhaustion, and then 1 have credited the cost of 

 producing the crop with straw. I do not see any 

 other way that I could do it. 



10.579. You will notice that you have one item, 

 the cost of production of grain; but in arriving at 

 the cost of production, you deduct one item which is 

 not the cost but which is a sale market price. Do 

 you actually sell it? Yes, I do actually sell. 



10.580. Not the whole of the straw? Not the whole 

 of the straw, but the great proportion of it. 



10.581. You are putting in as a value not only the 

 price of what you do sell, but a similar price for 

 what you do not sell? That price ought to go 

 against the dung, because that is the- value of the 

 straw. You ought to put that price against the dung. 

 You cannot count what it costs to make the dung, 

 and you will find that is a very large item. 



10.582. But you sec. von have very much more 

 than wiped out the dung by the straw, as far as the 

 cereal crops are concerned:' Yes. 



10.583. In other words, your wheat would cost you 

 more to grow if you had not so dealt with your dung 

 exhaustion, and given it credit for the market price 

 of the whole of the straw? That is so. 



K).")H4. Then to deal with these costs of growing 

 potatoes*, the one ill Ayrshire, I notice, for the 1919 

 crop, uses 30 cwt. of seed. Do you know if that is 

 an actual fact or if it is an estimate? I am sure I 

 cannot tell. 



10.585. Do you know what the yield pn- a. -re would 

 be in that case? I should say it might begin at any- 

 thing from about 4 tons per acre, and finish up with 

 8 tons per acre. 



10.586. Do you know whose estimate this is? Yes, 

 I do. 



10.587. Will you be prepared to tell us whose it is? 

 I do not see why I should withhold it : it is Mr. 

 Hannah's of Girvan Mains. 



10.588. He is a very big grower, is he not? Yes, 

 he is. 



10.589. Then take the Forfarshire statement." One 

 is stated to be for the 1918 crop. Is the other for 

 the 1918 crop? Yes, I think so. 



10.590. In the one case the seed is apparently 1 

 ton ; and, in the other case, 22 cwt. ? Yes. 



10.591. I notice in the case where it is 22 cwt., or 

 at least I infer the yiold is 5 tons, becau.so they talk 

 of " dressing potatoes out of pits, say 5 tons." 

 Would that bo an average yield for 1918 in Forfar- 

 shire? It would be under the average, I think. 



Chairman : I should not wonder if it does not apply 

 to the 1919 crop, as it is headed: " Estimated cost 

 of crop, September, 1919." 



10.592. Mr. Batchelor: Do you know the details of 

 these sufficiently?! have not looked into them. I 

 think that was left to Mr. Mercer to deal with. (Mr. 

 Mercer) : We only got the statement the other day. 

 and I had not had the chance of examining it any 

 more than you. 



10.593. There is only one other question with re- 

 gard to the estimated cost of production for Forfar- 

 shire, and that ia chemical manure, 8 cwt. at 11s. 6d. 

 From that is deducted 25 per cent. Is the intention 

 that there is a residual value left from that chemical 

 manure? That is so. 



10.594. Do you know what that kind of manure isf 

 I have no idea; but I expect bones, etc. 



See Appendix No. Ill 



D :) 



