Minutes of Evidence p.1401-1509 - Parliament of Victoria

1~ ... s. Gtabam,
Esq., J.P.,
conttnued,
12th May 1883,
1496
50537. But they could grow oats ?-Yes, they are Euitable for oats.
50538. And you think the duty should be continued for the purpose of continuing t.he production of
oats on this particul11r mea of land ?-Yes.
50539. What do you mean by best farms ; is the best farm that which is manured and cultivated ?­
·when I say best farms I mean the best soil.
50540. Natural soil ?-Yes.
50541. What does your own farm produce on the average. You say you cultivate sometimes as
many as 400 acres ; do you produce oats principally ?-Oat.s, wheat, and barley, when I did do so_.
50542. How many bushels of oats would your ground produce now-say upon the average. Would
it be 45 bushels to the acre ?-The last two years mine averaged 60 bushels an acre; but the next two or
three years it might be half that.
50543. Would it be fair to take it at 40 bushels as an average ?-Not all round.
50544. What would i.t be ?-Twenty-five perhaps.
50545. That would be at 2s. 6d. per bushel, or say 3s. a bushel-£3 5s. per acre. You told the
Chairman the cost of sowing and arranging the whole farming would be about 20s. an acre without the
threshing, which would be 10s. an acre more, and that the straw would be 40s. an acre this year. Then
the 40s. covers the whole expense you can possibly name in connexion with the keeping of the farm, and
lOs. more than the cost, so that you get £a 3s. out of every acre, and 10s. beside, which is £3 13s. an acre
profit ?-Yes ; but that is only an occasional time. In other years the straw may lie and rot ..
50546. But in other years you may get more for straw than in this ?-No; I think this is an extremely
high price.
50547. Is not there a prospect of a good coming year ?-No; t.here would be too much hay and
gmss down below, and then we get nothing for straw at all.
50548. But even taking off the straw you still show a profit of £1 13s. an acre ?-If we do not get
a profit in some way, what is the good of farming?
50549. ·what is the rent for a farm per acre, about here-a medium farm ?-A fortnight ago I heard
one landlord refuse 30s. an acre rent for twelve months.
50550. 'l'hat is a farm that would produce about 60 bushels of oats to the acre ?-Yes.
50551. Then the Commission is to understand from you that provided the malting in bond is carried
out on the principleJ> the Chairman has put, that is that it does not come into competition with the local
barley, you have no objection to the malting in bond being allowed ?-I have no objection to malting in
bond; but I think it ought to be Victorian barley.
50552. Victorian barley cannot be malted in bond, it is only barley that comes from foreign parts
that is dutiable, and therefore bonsled. Now, if that barley be imported and malted in bond, and then
exported again-do you agree with that course ?-I do not agree with malting in bond at all; I do not
consider it is right.
50553. Y on said to the Chairman it was right if it dill not come into competition. If the duty
were taken off potatoes, do you mean to tell the Commission that the eolony of Victoria would be swamped
from New Zealand with that particular root ?-Yes.
50554. Is there any probability of such a thing occurring ?-I think so.
50555. Are not we at present pretty ·well supplied with potatoes from theW estern district, W arrnant
bool, and so on ?-About half.
5055G. Does that come into competition with the Lancefield growers ?-Yes.
"50557. Would it not be right to have a duty upon them then to protect you ?-How could you
manage it ?
50558. You would like it ?-Certainly not.
50559. By M1·. Longmore.-I would like you to enter into a few particulars about the cost of
producing-what is the cost of ploughing· an acre ?-The cost of ploughing is nowadays much cheaper
than it used to he-it is about 10s. an acr(l.
50560. Harrowing?-You get harrowing and all done for l Os.-at any rate it is not more than
2s. Gd. more.
505Gl. Seed ?-Seed 6s. to 'is.
505G2. Cutting ?-Six shillings an acre.
50563. Threshing is £1 a hundred, is it not ?-Yes.
50564. And yon pay the labour ?-Yes, it costs about £2.
50565. That is 5t1. a bushel for a crop of 25 bushels-that is lls.
505GG. Bags ?-Ten shillings a dozen.
50567. Half a dozen will do an acre of 25 bnshels ?-Yes.
about that.
50568. There is 5s. carriage of the grain to Melbourne ?-A bout 5s. a ton-that is from the station,
but there is carriage to the station as well, which may be another 5s. perhaps.
505G!.l. A ton of oats is about 56 bushels, is it not?-Yes.
50570). That would be 5s. altoget,her per acre ?-Yes.
50571. Expenses in Melbourne ?-They are pretty large with commission agents.
50572. I want to know for calculation's sake ?-Fourpence-halfpenny a bushel.
50573. That is 10s. an acre for 25 bushels ?-Yes.
50574. Xow what about your wear and tear ?-Of course there is something to be looked to in
that.
50575. I just want to show you this now as compared with your evidence, because when you started
you showed that there were 35 bushels to the acre upon the average of oats, and that the sale of the straw
more than covered all the expenses connected with the production of it, so that would be five
guineas an ~1,cre clear profit to the farmer for every acre of oats he grew upon the average ?­
Yes.
5057G. Now here you have given us expenses amounting to £2 15s. Gel. for growing an acre of
oats, and you have not allowed anything for we::tr and tear, and you s~ty now that the average is 25 bushels
to the acre, which at 3s. comes t.o £3 15s. ?-Yes.
50577. Would you put. 4s. Gd. an acre ou for wear and tear ?-No.