MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



89 



13 August, 1919.] 



MR. W. T. LAWRENCE. 



[Continued. 



FOURTH DAY, 



WEDNESDAY, 13xH AUGUST, 1919. 



PRESENT : 



DR. C. M. DOUGLAS, C.B. 



MR. G. G. REA, C.B.E. 



MR. W. ANKER SIMMONS, C.B.E. 



MR. HENRY OVERMAN, O.B.E. 



Mr. A. W. ASHBY. 



MR. A. BATCHELOR. 



MR. GEOIKJK DAI. I. A- 



Mi:. W. EDWARDS. 



MH. K. E. GRKKN. 



MR. J M. HKNDKHSON. 



SIR WILLIAM BARCLAY PEAT (Chairman). 



MR. T. HENDERSON. 

 MR. T. PROSSER JONES. 

 MR. E. W. LANGFORD. 



MR. R. v. "LENNARD. 



MB. GEORGE NICHOLLS. 

 MR. E. H. PARKER. 

 MB. R. R. ROBBINS. 

 MR. W. R. SMITH, M.P. 

 MR. R. B. WALKER. 



MB. W. T. LAWRF.NCK, Principal, Newton Rigg Farm School, called and examined. 



9084. Chairman: You are the Principal of the New- 

 ton Rigg Cuml>erland and Westmorland Farm 

 School, near Penrith:- '; 



3085. You have submitted certain information. 

 Will you allow me to put that in without reading it? 

 Yes. 



Chairman : Then I will ask Dr. Douglas to begin 

 the questions which are to be addressed to you in 

 ,,.(, r. TII-C to your precis, see Appendix IV. 



2(W>. Hi. /< './' U : Will you tell us first what date,, 

 or what seasons, these figures refer to!' You lirrt 

 give us a sununcr statement, and then a winter one? 



( iin \eai- Ti(U on the 31t .March: lint, in order to 

 differentiate sharply between the winter and the 

 summer, the winter is carried out to the middle of 

 May. which is our turning out time; so, those figures 

 are reallv for the year ending the middle of May last. 



2087. May, 1919? Yes. 



2088. From the end of May? From the middle of 

 May, 1918, to the middle of May, 1918. 



2<M). In giving summer and winter periods, do 

 those correspond to the periods during which the cows 

 are out constantly, and the periods during which they 

 are housed? That is so. 



2090. Then, I may take it there are 21 weeks that 

 the cows are out by day and by night? That is from 

 the middle of May to the first week in November. 

 They are out till the first week in November in Cum- 

 berland. 



2091. You will agree that gives you rather a longer 

 period during which the cows are out, both day and 

 night, than obtains in some other districts? No; 

 I am hardly prepared to allow that. 



2092. Then you are not familiar with the condi- 

 tions further north? No, not in Scotland. 



2093. But. if I tell you that in dairying districts in 

 Scotland the Miiumcj- period as defined by yon that 

 i\- Mi" period during which cows are out both day and 

 night is limited to 16 and 17 weeks, you would agree 

 that- that would make a substantial difference? Yes, 



very much. Of course, as far as the cattle is con- 

 cerned, our farm is not an exclusively dairying, mJk 

 producing farm ; it is a stock rearing farm as well. 

 We rear all our own stock. We buy no cows, and, 

 consequently, we do not bring them in before we are 

 actually obliged, to force the milk yield. 



2094. As you have mentioned the point that you 

 rear your own stock, do you submit any accounts 

 bearing on the rearing of your young stock? I have 

 not given anything of that kind in this; but it really 

 means this : that we replace practically a third of our 

 dairy cows every year. A third goes out, and a third 

 of heifers come in. 



2095. Do you sell them mostly at a certain age?-- 

 Ceiierally immediately after their fourth calving. 



2096. That is six years old, approximately? Yes. 



2097. Just to goon with your account. During the 

 period under review in those summer accounts your 

 price for cake was 20 a ton. What kind of cake do 

 you habitually use? A good deal of the cake which 

 we u,sed during those 12 months was earth-nut cake. 



2098. That is not now obtainable, is it? Yes, in 

 small quantities ; but, of course, when we could get it, 

 we liked to use it rather than cotton cake, being 

 cheaper. 



2099. And that is now at a much higher selling 

 price than 20? Yes. 



2100. Do you agree it is higher than 20? Yes. 

 This account I have presented to you now would not 

 apply to this summer at all, because this summer's 

 keep will be tremendous as compared with that of last 

 summer, because the drought has been so great. 



2101. How do you estimate the depreciation of 

 cows: do you allow anything for depreciation? Yes; 

 I put that under the head of " Losses and Veterinary 

 Charges." 



2102. That amounts for the year only to about 23, 

 does it not? Yes. 



