'39 



had gone on these lines there would have been more land under 

 tillage and greater progress. As it is, there is all the greater scope 

 for the iK-w work which your question touches. The man who 

 wants to begin on 1000 acres will get them close to Katannmg, but 

 there are smaller areas that are very fertile awaiting an occupier.' 

 Katanning, however, owing to its being the largest centre on the 

 line, has had a greater demand for its Crown lands than Wagin Lake 

 and the country lying between it and Katanning, which are almost as 

 favorably situated, and where much of the land within sight of the 

 train is of a high-class quality. Further south, around Tambellup, 

 there are also excellent areas. The advice which is given to the in- 

 tending settler is to make a tour through the district, or to ask Mr. 

 H. S. Ranford, the Government Land agent, to indicate the choice 

 vacant spots to him, and he is not likely to go away under the 

 impression that there is not ample room for an enlarged scope of 

 work." (44.) " Is not dairying being neglected ?" " Yes ; there 

 is no dairying to supply even home requirements, except in 

 a few cases, and in these only for a few spring and early 

 summer months. There is too much labour, not enough profit, and 

 artificial feed is too valuable to make dairying a general pursuit. It 

 is preferred to let the cows rear their calves on the natural grasses, 

 or, at best, to only milk the mothers once a day. Some of the lead- 

 ing producers, however, look forward to laying down English pas- 

 ture plants, and so adding to the stocking capacity of some of their 

 cleared lands that dairying may be encouraged. Mr. Westley Maley 

 reckons that, as lucerne paddocks, some of his ground which is 

 now growing cereals would return him a larger profit with less 

 labour than cereals impose in the various stages of their production. 

 He has also great faith in some of the indigenous grasses when 

 they have the favoured condition of being nurtured on land which 

 having grown trees is, after grubbing, able to hold all the rainfall for 

 the benefit of the pastures. The value of corkscrew grass has im- 

 pressed itself upon him ; he believes it can be kept growing vigor- 

 ously green and succulent in an unused cornfield of chocolate loam. 

 The great summer grass of the south-west couch or Indian doab 

 does not thrive in the south." (45.) "Are vegetables grown to any extent 

 in the south?" "Only in the wet months. Mr. Cronin's garden, which is 

 low-lying, gets some water in the summer from a large dam, which 

 is connected with races communicating with the vegetable beds. 

 The yield is very abundant, but water is too scarce in January and 

 February for the example which Mr. Cronin has set to have been 

 imitated by others. He also grows maize luxuriantly." (46.) " Do 

 potato and other root-crops do well in your district?" "The 

 ground is suitable for the growth of the potato if they are put in the 

 red loam, but frosts are prone to cut down the young plants. On 

 the higher levels, above the frost line, potatoes have been grown 

 with excellent results ; but in so level a territory as the south, hilly 

 situations are not to be found adjacent to the railway. The early 



