17 S 



. .'MMlsMt'N M\ At.Kiri I.Tl UK. 



, 1919.] 



MR. II AKMOUR and MR. O. G. MKKCKR. 



[Ciillliiinnl. 



|(l.7iii>. \Vliai is your view <if co-operation in the 

 industry? IK. you'lhink there i- riHini for greater 

 co-operation i- 1 think co-oi>eiation is it very good 



"it'i^Tt;;. In buying anil selling- Y.-. in Inlying and 



selling, and bflping another. I heln vc it Mill 



ultimately extend; but at picsciit ;i great many of 

 tin- farmers an- not open t<> receive it yet. though 

 I hel:c\e they would lie the better for it. 

 in :<- That i- y.nir opinion:- Yes. 

 10.7IW. .Ur. Smith : With regard to thee figures 

 that you have presenUxl as to the cost of the |K>tat<> 

 , rop'iii Korlarshire for 191*.' is there any informa- 

 tion as to what that i-rop was:' Will von addres, 

 \,iur remarks on tho potato crop to Mr. Mercer? 



l(t,77(. Could you toll us what the crop WHS. Mr. 

 Htreerl <Mi. Mtrtvr): I am afraid we can give 

 yon vi>ry little information on those tables to-day. 



10.771. Would it not l>e possible to have the infor 

 matioii later? Ye*; I think it will be (.ossihle to 

 h-.ve all the information laU-r, but I only got this 



i day morning. 



10.772". At what price were they sold:- Thli is just 

 the statement from the fanner himself. 



in. 773. I see in the statement regarding the Ayr- 

 shire early market*, you put down the rerit, rates and 

 taxes for throe-fourths of the year. What is the 

 reason for that? -The reason. I believe, is that after 

 the potatoes are taken off, a cro|> of rape is grown. 

 That is a plant of the turnip order which grows 

 foliage only. It is eaten down with sheep or plough) .1 

 in green manure. Therefore that has been de- 

 durt.-d from the eost of rent for the whole of the 

 year. There is a note In-low which begins " Oatx-h 

 crop." 



10,774. This is an early crop of potatoes. 1 no 

 potatoes would not stand on the land thn'o-fourths of 

 the year? The. farmer is allocating the portion of 

 the rent which he thinks is due to this catch crop: 

 that is all. 



10,77"). If he did not grow thejii as a cabch crop he 

 would grow something else, because an early crop of 

 |K.tatoes do not stand on the ground very long? 

 Yee; but thev find in Ayrshire that that is the most 

 profitable thing to do for the potatoes themsi 'Ives. 

 and thnt is how they do it. 



1(1, 77(1 Would not three months cover early pota- 

 toes? Yes, but the ground is left vacant all the nt . 

 of the time. 



10.777. I see there is 30 cwts. of seed potetoe*. 

 Would von sugg-st that MO cwts. an acre were 

 planted'?- I am not in that district at all: but I 

 am quite confident that wht this farmer has put 

 down is absolutely true. 



1O.77H. In regard to the discussions you have had 

 in your Chamlior. have they passed any resolutions 

 an to this question of the future of the agricultural 

 industry:- I do not rememlior at the moment if any 

 resolutions were passed; but at the Directors' meeting! 

 we have time and again sjMiken of these guarantees 

 during the later months, and the general feeling \v::s 

 that they re necessary at this stage. 



10,771)' Hut the Chamber itself has not disc, 

 them. I gather:' The Chamber has discussed them 

 through the Directors who have to manage the 

 business nt the Chamber. 



10,7^1 Hut on the part of the members generally. 

 there has not been sufficient interest to warrant them 

 raising the question:- That lias not propped up. 



10.7-1 If they h.-ul. there would have I n Mine 



discussion and |MHwihly some resolutions. That is 

 -i ii.-ralh the pun. ilure. is it not ^ . that is no. 



III. 7*2. And then- has not Wii a resolution 

 pawc'i 'I he principle of the Corn I'roilui-tion .\ct 

 MS approved by the general meeting. 



10.7H3. And the figures thnt are contained therein? 



We debated the figuri-i. 1 remember. 

 ld.7-1 Could you tell u* whether there is generally 

 on the part of fan m-crn as to the future as 



far ai price* are romcrin d '' Without doubt lb. 



IK-CM any land >ld in your dis- 



tri I* l""c I - -III ri-cently. 



In ; my of them IH--II bought by the farm 



.Iii-Mi h:ve IM-CII bought liv the farinii'. 

 HI. 7-7 !).. vim not think that that is rather con- 

 trary to the idnn that they lack < onfjdcnce in the 



Sir Appendix No. III. 



Inline when the are prepared to purchase their own 

 farms? The trouble is that in most rases they have 

 either to purchase their place or leave it. In nearly 

 in our own district, I remember they were 

 held by men who had been there for a very long period 

 ol veals, and they preferred to take the ri-k and 

 remain where they were. 



10.7-vS. It would not have been an niiiavoui 'ab'e 

 time to get out of it?- I quite agree; but a man 

 lint readily quit his farm which he has held for IS I. ei 

 :UI. or Id years, and they bought them. 



1(1, 7MI. Would you agree that farmers have be -n 

 making very good profits the la-t four years? I 

 would certainly agree that farmers have done quite 

 well and made a profit; but I am afraid many have 

 r.ot done so extraordinarily well as the general public 

 imagine. In many cases, some of which I know per 

 sonally. farmers had dime through a very severe time 

 and were really in a state of considerable indebtedness 

 when the war broke out. These men have cleared 

 their feet, and are in a better position than they were 

 ever in before. 



10.790. Would it be true to say that, apart from 

 paying off any exi-ting debt, a good number of them 

 have made very substantial profits? Some of them 

 have made quite substantial profits. 



10.791. And that the valuations of their stock 

 would be at a very high figure? If they went out 

 just now, they would get much more. 



10.792. Therefore it they did go out, they would i. i 

 under very good conditions? -Yes. 



10.793. But in place of that they prefer to buy their 

 farms? Yes. because in many cases they were men 

 still active and vigorous, and naturally they were not 

 going to turn to another line of life at their time; 

 they could not do it. 



10.794. Does it not occur to yon that if they had 

 heen doing so poorly in the past, that by investing the 

 money they realised on their farm they would get : 

 hetter income than we are told they get by working 

 the farm? I do not think a life of idleness appeals in 

 many people; certainly not in Scotland. 



10.795. But if they had been doing so badly as to 

 accumulate substantial debts, would not it have been 

 an inducement for them to sell and invc-t that money 

 and secure a regular income? Of course there is ...n 

 inducement to go out and sell just now; but. on the 

 other hand, they did not wish to give up the livelihood 

 they have been accustomed to. A second thing is 

 this: that we have the assurance that agriculture i^ 

 now coming into its own and is not going to be neg- 

 lected as it was in the past. The people have 

 awakened to the need of agriculture, and therefore 

 there was not the same inducement for farmers to sell 

 as there might have been some years ago. 



10.71X). There is an inducement to-day; and ill spite 

 of that, and with all their anxiety in regard to the 

 future, they are prepared to purchase their farms:' 

 Yes. they have purchased their farms. I think 

 perhaps a great many outsiders do not just realise 

 what the connection between a farmer and his farm 

 really is. I think that is when- many people go 

 astray. A farmer is bound up in his farm. He has 

 li>ed in it, it may be. 10 years, and knows every field 

 ol it. and he is not going to give up his life work if he 

 can help it. 



10.797. Hut there has got to be more than sentiment 

 to enable a farmer to live? Yes; but, as 1 say. he has 

 the knowledge that the people have awakened to the 

 need of agriculture, and we have been assured that 

 agriculture is not going to be neglected, and that is 

 worth something. 



10.798. That would rather suggest he has confidence, 

 in the future rather than a lack of confidence:-- Well ; 

 it is a hope. 



10.799. In regard to these tables, which I under- 

 stand an- your evidence. .Mr. Armour, would you 

 agree that during the past few years farmers have 

 done cxrecdini'lv well- < Ur. l/im/i//): Yes. I would 

 sa\ that farmers have done well; bill I do not think. 

 a-> a general rule, I would say exceeding well. 



|(I.SO(I. Itcgarding voursclf. would yon admit thai 

 \ou have done very well this last two yea 

 ia-t two years I have done fairly well. 



