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assistance of the Government in order to complete the line, an 

 loan of ^500,000 was guaranteed on the security of a mortgage 

 upon the land grants. The mortgage has retarded the alienation of 

 the company's estate, and selectors have always shown a preference 

 for the easier terms granted to them by the Crown. Moreover, it 

 would not be possible for the holder of a farm taken out of the 

 Midland grants to obtain the assistance of the Land bank. Most 

 of the land has therefore remained locked up, while there has been 

 a demand for similar country held by the Crown Lands department. 

 A strong agitation has commenced for the ceding to the Govern- 

 ment of the Midland railway and its hereditaments, and the pur- 

 chase of the Great Southern line and its estates, which also 

 belonged to English shareholders, has given strength to the move- 

 ment. If the step should be taken, enormous areas will be thrown 

 open for selection, which are now unimproved. The best of them 

 are to be found around Dongarra, near the Irwin River, which will 

 be dealt with in writing of the country between Guildford and 

 Mullewa ; but the encroachments made within the boundaries of 

 Toodyay seriously operate to reduce the agricultural returns of the 

 district. 



A summary may be given of the evidence collated from reliable 

 sources, of the advantages \vhich Toodyay presents to those who are 

 looking for a place possessing railway communication, a fair rain- 

 fall, and proximity to market, together with a soil that will profit- 

 ably repay the labor and outlay expended upon it. As a rule there 

 are excellent roads in every direction, and the number of schools 

 that have been established reflects the greatest credit upon the Rev. 

 R. K. Taylor, who has exerted himself to make it the boast 

 of Toodyay that no child need grow up there without 

 the benefits of education. It is considered essential that 

 a man who does not propose to obtain more than 300 

 acres should have capital of about i per acre to start with. 

 He can make a good beginning with less, but his progress will be 

 comparatively slow, unless he can employ labor to clear the land 

 quicldy so as to be in a position to get the benefit of the high 

 prices which are now prevailing for farm produce. As a rule 

 cereals pay better than root crops, except in such swamp lands as 

 those which have been described in speaking of the Helena Valley 

 and parts of the Toodyay old townsite. If fertilisers are used, as 

 they should be while a farmer's revenue is so large as it is at the pre- 

 sent time, the land does not quickly exhaust itself. If there is 

 enough cleared laud to permit of cropping every alternate 

 year the additional weight of the harvests would recommend this 

 plan. For fruit-growing Toodyay is almost unrivalled. The fruits, 

 quickly ripened in the bright sunshine and the dry air of the latitude, 

 are of exquisite flavor and large size, while the vineyards produce 

 very superior wine grapes. Most of the farmers keep a few sheep, 

 which they purchase as stores and fatten for the butcher and 



