MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



45 



\;> October, 1919.] MESSRS. ALLISON, JNR., McNicoL, STEWART, DAVIDSON. MCL.AREN. 



[Contiiini'il. 



It would also require additional casual or occasional 

 workers. I have put that down in figures. The first 

 is the cost of keep of a pair of horses, harness, 

 depreciation and interest. I estimate that at 198 

 per annum. Secondly, there are additional 

 implements required for these additional pair of 

 horses. 1 have put that very low at 12. 1 think 

 that might be put a little higher ; that is for interest, 

 depreciation, and up-keep. Thirdly, there are the 

 wages for a ploughman for a year. I have put that 

 low as we are engaging for 1920 at a higher rate, at 

 55s. a neck, l-3. Fourthly, there are the wages 

 for extra workers which I estimate will work out at 

 about 2 per week, 104, making a total of 

 457. Then there is the question of the extra accom- 

 modation for the extra staff and stabling and imple- 

 ment shedding. At the present time I do not think 

 we could, erect a ploughman's cottage to satisfy the 

 requirements that are necessary in Scotland under 

 500. I would estimate the stabling and implements 

 shedding accommodation at an additional 200, which 

 makes a total of 700. Taking this at 6 per cent, 

 brings out an additional 42, which brings the total 

 up to something like 500 per annum. This extra 

 r-ottage and stabling accommodation will require to be 

 provided by the landlord, and I do not think under 

 present circumstances the landlord will be prepared to 

 give these, to the tanner five, of charge ; it will have to 

 go on in the shape of rent. A good part of the land in 

 Scotland has been bought up by the tenants, and 

 nii.^i of these men at the present time are not I think 

 in a position to incur this capital expenditure. 



14.720. That in your opinion is the effect on costs 

 that a reduction such as you mention in hours would 

 have? Yes, that is my opinion, 



14.721. I suppose you would also have to keep in 

 ili' I'aet 'hat the whole of the horses would be 



idle and not working for more hours than they 

 have been doin;; in the past? Yes. The effect of 

 the Saturday atternoon I may say is that we are 

 not getting the most out of our horses with the 

 shorter hours; it is too long an interval from 

 Saturday at mid-day until Monday morning, and we 

 find it is usually at that time that the horses go 

 wrong standing doing no work and probably getting 

 too much feeding. 



U,7.'. It ii i.ot -ood for the horses? It is not 



- They are quite fit and able to do more? 

 The horses have been kept in perfect condition under 

 a 9- or a 10-hours' day in previous times. 



14.724. You mentioned in answer to a question that 

 you calculated seven hours would I.e the amount of 

 stable work. Wero you referring to the winter period 

 only, and not including the time whon the horses would 

 be out at grass!- I was taking it for the winter period 

 mly. In the summer time, when the horses are out at 



grass, there is very little stable work; it would not 

 work out at more tliau a half of tha.Wproba.bly two 

 or three hours a week if you take an average. 



14.725. If you take it over the whole of the year 

 you would reduce the figure of seven hours somewhat:' 



Yes, it would have to be reduced for the months 

 of June, July and August^-for those three months 

 at any rate in Scotland. 



14,726 To come to the question of having taken 



out of the land more in the post few years, and 



which it was suggested ought to have been put into 



'rv account, has it been put into reserve P-- 



I do not think so. 



1 1.727. Is it not the case that it has been included 

 in your ordinary yearly profits, and thereby to some 

 extent inflated them? --Yes, in my opinion that is 

 the case. 



HTL'^. So that the result will be in future years 

 f instead of taking out the reserves you begin to put 

 I back, your profits yearly will show loss than what 

 they ought to? Certainly. 



11.729. Would you say that, taken all over, the 



1918 crop, which is the one upon which the costs 



put before us are based, was n better yielding crop 



and a better threshing crop than tho 1919 crop would 



r to I,,.'' Yeg, the 191S crop was onn of the l-st 



ie h:ivn had in Scotland for a good many j-i 



f would iay that in the cerenl crop for this yenr. and 



particularly oats, there will be a reduction of at least 

 25 per cent., and our potato crop I am certain on 

 an average will be two or three tons an acre less. 



14.730. In addition to these differences the 1919 

 crop has cost you more to produce? Yes. 



14.731. In regard to the land under the plough 

 in 1914, on the better class farms, I think it was put 

 to you that without any guarantees such land might 

 remain under the plough. Is it not the case that 

 there will be a considerable proportion of that land 

 requiring better treatment than it has got for the 

 past four or five years? Yes, if you use up the 

 mauurial residue or cumulative fertility ot the 

 land for three or four years it will have to be put 

 back in some shape or form. 



14.732. Would one of the ways be to rest it in 

 grass for . time? Yes, that would probably bo tho 

 easiest way. 



14.733. With the result that you would not have 

 so much first class land under the plough as you had 

 in 1914? -Yes. 



14.734. With regard to your wages which you are 

 prepared to pay for the future year, beginning now, 

 I suppose you would have in view the fact that there 

 is a guarantee for the 1919 crop? Yes. 



14.735. And also that the Prime Minister has made 

 a statement to the effect that he oannot imagine it 

 will be other than somewhat similar in respect of tho 

 year 1920? Yes. 



14.736. You had that in view? Yes. 



14.737. So that you were not stretching too much 

 in giving an increase of wages you knew what you 

 were working on? Yes. 



14.738. Mr. McNicol, in regard to the turnip crop 

 of 1918, particularly in tho Lothians, could you tell 

 us what kind of crop it was?- -(Mr. UcJTietf): Very 

 poor in many cases a failure. 



14.739. An actual failure? Yes, an actual failure; 

 there were many cases of nearly total failure. 



14.740. And I suppose in a considerable number of 

 cases the seed was sown two or three times ? Yes ; 

 four times in some cases. 



14.741. Could you give us details of the hours of 

 horse labour for a year? What in your opinion would 

 te a reasonable number of hours for a horse to work 

 ni a year? Do you mean the actual working? 



14.742. Yes? I think it would ruV roughly speak- 

 ing, to about 220 days on the average, or a little over 

 that. 



14.743. How do you arrive at that number? I sup- 

 pose you start with 365 and deduct 52 Sundays? Yes, 

 and then deduct 26 full days 52 half-holidays are 

 equal to 26 full days. 



14.744. Yes, that leaves 287? Yes. 



14.745. How many holidays do the men have ? They 

 have New Year's day and one hiring day. 



14.746. That is 285? Yes, and there are periods 

 when the pairs are split on various operations during 

 spring and summer and during hay and corn harvest. 

 We only use about half of our available whole days staff 

 at those periods the others are not working then. 

 Then there is bad weather and other conditions when 

 we may not be able to get on the land, and when we 

 may not have any carting to do, and the men then 

 would not be using the horses, so that I estimate 220 

 as the actual number of working days per annum. 



14.747. In addition to what you have mentioned 

 there is also the time they are idle while you are 

 threshing? Yes, the Lulk of them are idle during 

 threshing. There may be one or two employed carting 

 to the mill. 



14.748. You were asked with regard to the necessity 

 of appointing a considerable number of officials if there 

 were a guarantee. Are you aware that in Scotland 

 applicable to this present year's guarantee, tho Board 

 of Agriculture have issued forms to farmers asking 

 them to fill them up with the acreages of thes varioiifi 

 cereal crops? Yes. 



14.749. Are you also aware that the Board of Agri- 

 culture for Scotland are only checking 10 per cent, 

 of the returns taken at random out of the whole lot? 

 That is true. 



14.750. That is all the officialdom there is with 

 regard to this current year? Yes. 



