116 



\:\\\. C..MMI.sM"\ ,)\ Atiltlt I I.TI UK. 



MK. J (' 



imrtl. 



were taken froiu my farm. Ol those, four have re- 

 turned. During their alnoiu-t* we hatl tit rely on 

 Gorman prisoner*' labour, and 1 had six of them for 

 three years. 



12.577. With regard to the efficiency of your men, 

 do you find their efficiency equal to what it was prior 

 to the war?- Yes, about the same I think. 



12.578. You have nothing to say as to thoir cffi- 

 v y We have never had iiny trouble with labour. 



13.579. I notice here that th.- h.>r-e k<vp is 5s. 5d. 

 a day. That is tho maximum, I take it, w hiu the 

 hone is working? The way in which we arrive at 

 that is, from the figure, that it costs us to keep the 

 horses during the year. 



12.580. Is that an average for the \rar, or is it 

 for the working days: This is for the year. 



12.581. It is an average for the year of 52 weeks? 

 Yes. 



12,532. Mr. Thomas llcndrnon: You have not 

 hown ny costs here for the 1019 wheat crop? No. 



12.583. It is 1918? Yes. 



13.584. I think you replied to Mr. Batchelor that 

 your yield of wheat this year was a quarter down 

 "from last year:- That is tin* .--innate. Of course we 

 have not realised that crop yet, but our estimate is 

 one-fourth less. 



12.585. That is 3J quarters you are producing? 

 Yes, that is 6 sacks. 



12.586. Is that right ?^ Yes, that is about it, 6$ 

 sacks. 



12.587. What about your cost of production this 

 year? The cost of production this year will be quite 

 one-fourth more. 



12.588. So that, roughly speaking, would be 

 3 6s. Od. on to your last year's figures? Yes. 



12.589. That is 17? A big crop will lose money 

 this year. 



12.590. And it would lose at 80s., the guarantee 

 which you propose? The price now you see is 71s. 



12.591. Yes; Km \mi ai.- ( u *Us. gu.. 

 tee, and you would !<*.< .-\.-n at then.- Tin- < 

 production is abnormal in 1919. 



12.592. That is not the enu--ti.ni I am asking \>u. 

 Would you l.i-.- on tin- -o-.:- I think it would be 

 about that. I d. not think u.--h"uld gain anything. 



':\. How many quiirior^ per nil.- have \ou this 

 year? We have al nailers. 



'4. At 4 a quarter the guaranteed tu 

 that would be only ill'- -Yes. 



u are going to lose between &t 

 and 4 even on tho guaranteed pri- linly. 



l_'.."!Mi. Mr. '.'run: I have been trying to inak< 

 your 800 acres of arable. There- are IfiO acres of 

 wheat, 40 acres of barley. 14 acres of the mangolds, 

 and 60 acres of seed hay. 



only makes 2G4 acres. What is the rest? The rest is 

 two years' lay; and root crop. Wo grow 250 acres 

 of roots. 



12,597. I was wondering where your profits came in. 

 You see you are losing on ymir c.-r.-al-;. and \ou are 

 losing heavily on your sheep. I was wondering where 

 you did make your profits? The bright spot has been 

 the dairy. 



r_'.59S. Then you must make a considerable profit 

 from the milk? We hnve made the profit during the 

 last two vears. Of course, hist year, 191*. we had a 

 very gOOO cereal year. 



1- ..190. It does not amount to very much on your 

 showing, only 1 13s. 5d. an acre. Your farm is near 

 Blandford, i' s not it - v 



12.600. Do you let the shooting from your fnrm? 

 Nei. we have not let it this year. I nm letting it next 

 year. 



12.601. Are you troubled with game at nil? N.I 



12.602. Barest' No. 



12.603. A good deal of it is hillside, is it not? 

 Yes, very good shooting. 



Chairman: We are very much obliged to you. 



iThe Witness withdrew.) 

 Mr. JOHN WILLIAM DOUTHWAITE, . N.F.U., called and examined. 



Chairman : The costs in connection with your farm. 

 as submitted by tho National Farmers' Union, have, 

 been before th.- members of the Commission, and the 

 members of the Commission desire the opportunity of 

 cross-examining you in regard to the items of cost.* 

 I will ask Mr. Smith to begin. 



12.604. Mr. Smilh : Do we understand that these 

 figures here are actual figures of actual expenditure? 

 Yes, they are. 



12.605. They are not estimates? Not estimates in 

 the least. 



12.606. Do we understand that seed in No. 1 is 4 

 bushels to the acre? Not all over. It is on that 

 one particular piece. 



12.607. That is rather heavy seeding, is not it? 

 It was very late sown, and you will observe it was not 

 drilled ; it was dragged in on top of the plough quite 

 late in November. Of course. > always sow it in 

 thicker late in the season. 



12.608. Mr. 1'arkrr: In tho estimates of cost for tho 

 wheat crops of 1919, you have a figure for the' increase 

 of labour, 132. Is" that on account e>f the shorter 

 hours? That is because e>f the last in. : ., . <>1 



from 30s. to 36s. 6d. ; and in 1918 tho 100. m.- . i. M , 

 psrt of that year was when wages wen- '.Ms. 



12.609. Then you have made no allowance in this 

 132 for tho fact that the hours have come down from 

 54 to 50. and to 4fi in October- In our county the 

 hours have been 52 all tin- year round. >-ei far. 



12.610. Has your land suffered in fertility much 

 during the u;, I should - ou'ie of it 

 ha* been in corn three and four \cars in succession. 

 Of ceiurvp we were askexl to grow ns much corn as we 

 could. 



II. What ould it .0,1 ( ,,-r acre to restore the> 

 land to it* pre-war fertility? Roughly speaking. I 

 should ay ." nn ncre. all round. 



12,612. Mr. A ! think you said in reply to 



M' Si h. that the a<- omits on pap real I v 



actual nccounU taken from the fnrm I Y.-*. 



"'( Appendix No IV . Farm No. 1. 



12,613. But I notice on the first page you also add 

 that " in putting them forward for the purpose of the 

 present enquiry additions have been made at certain 

 point*." What does that refer to:- That refers to 

 tho additions at the bottom, " Add interest, manage- 

 ment, and sons' work." That has been done by the 

 Secretary to get it into line with other accounts I 

 suppose. 



12,6M. Referring back to what Mr. Parker asked 

 you jus{ now about the land getting foul, I not: 

 the second page you refer to tho aftermath of war 

 farming for continuous corn growing. What has been 

 tho kind of continuation there? Have you been run- 

 ning the \\heat crops one after tho other?- >. 



thai at the request of the War Com. 

 mitteeF Was not it at the reejuest of the country 

 that the farmers should grow corn? 



12,(ilii Are von on the Agricultural Committee? 



No. 



17. Did thev eoMie along to interfere in vour 

 cnso nt all!- Xot'ut all. 



12,01-. It was purely a voluntary affair?- It wa- 

 purely voluntary and patriotic to got corn. Of course, 

 we knew {ho country wanted torn. 



.id you say as a result, of that the land 

 m of condition, and I notice you have extra 

 down here for cleaning foul land.' That will apply to 

 prae tic-ally all the land that has been over white 

 cropp. 



-0. And you .>stiniato it will th,. 



acre to got that back into condition:- On my own 

 farm ( am sure it i\ ill cost me that. 



I'Ji.-.M. Only one other question, and thnt is vith 

 regard to the traitor. I notice you have not a very 

 enthusiastic \\i-n- with regard to tractor cultivation. 

 You do not think :t will cheapen rest ? I tl.i not think 

 it will be actually cheaper as far a nn \peri- 



has gone. 



"-' I M.I, ice -on ],,,1 j,, l,jg " jf" there. I 

 not know whether you had had insjny lnvnkdow : 



-it. th" Ov.-rtinie " 'tractor, we were 

 > out jnnally li: -kdowns. 



.'! Might 1 ,-i-k whether vi think that will be 

 gut over "ben ilie m. n \\lio work them get moro 



