A. It. STONE.]

3

1.—13.

The following is a case at Helensville : — Area of land, 209 acres. Value of land at £55 per acre, £11,495; value of stock, &C., £2,242: total value, £13,737. Expenditure: Interest, ,£685; labour, £545; sundries, £515: total, £1,745. Revenue: Butterfat, £1,221 ; sundries, £21 2 : total revenue, £1,433. Butterfat production, 14,125 Ib.; cost per pound, 2s. 2d.; revenue per pound, Is. Bfd. Number of cows, 65; butterfat per cow, 2171b.; labour per cow, £8. That is about the average from, that district, and we have three different instances. 27. Mr. McCombs.] Can you tell me how long ago those returns were prepared?— They were prepared in the last few days. II is about ten days ago that the information was asked for. It is understood the details referred to last season. In some instances that was not stated, but it is all recent information. 28. Did you send out a circular letter? —Yes. It was no use sending it out to very many. We got names from the dairy factories of those who it was thought could give accurate information, and we communicated with a few of them. 29. How many ditl you communicate with?—l only communicated with seven or eight, but Mr. Singleton collected some through his representatives outside. 30. How many were approached? —There are twenty-four cases on this file which I have taken into consideration, and there are eight others from which information could be got, but it was not deemed sufficiently reliable to place before the Committee. 31. You have put the information in such a form that the Committee can follow it?— Yes. 32. There are eight more cases? —Yes, on a separate statement; but they have not been put before the Committee. 33. Might the Committee have those? —Yes. 34. Mr. Hockly.] How are the interest charges made up?— Generally 6 per cent. 35. Against the whole farm ? —Yes, the whole capital value. 36. There would be some other sources of revenue in the cases you have mentioned? —The)' were asked to give (he whole of the revenue of the farm. In asking for the areas we asked for the dairying-area. Sometimes there might be a larger area, only portion of the farm being used for dairying. 37. We may take it that the revenue returns are not entirely from butter —No; in one instance the butter was £639 and the value from calves £180, There is one thing—namely, the value of the dwelling—that is an asset. They live rent-free. 38. In any of your returns have you the cost of growing the necessary feed for the stock? — We asked for information regarding cultivation, manures, seeds, and wages. Where there is a big variation in wages it may possibly be that it is due to the fact that the cultivation wages and milking wages have been put together. 39. The cost of production on a farm where you have to grow food is very much greater than where you are depending on grass alone all the year round?— Yes. 40. Mr. J. 11. Hamilton.] How do the North and South islands compare?— The land-values seem to be a good deal lower in the South. 41. That would make up for the cost of growing winter feed ?—Yes. 42. Mr. McCombs.] Is the 6 per cent, on the value of everything—stock, implements, <feo. ?— Yes. 43. The ordinary business man puts in his home when estimating the percentage on capital. He has got it invested in the business. In these cases the home is included as well as the business? —Yes; I have not got any information to the contrary. There is one case where a manager is employed. In that case the inclusion of the home would be reasonable, but in most of the cases the men are working their own farms. 44. There is a reference to cultivation wages and milking wages. Where it was cultivation for the purpose of producing food for the milking-cows, that is a fair charge, of course; but, do you think there is a possibility of mixing up the cultivation wages where there were returns from, say, grain ?—They no doubt put in everything, but they were asked to state all the -revenue they got from the land : for instance, they were asked to state the value of the produce raised on the farm for the purpose of the family or the employees. 45. If there were grain returns they should be included?— Yes. There would not be grain for sale on 64 acres. 46. When you were asking for the returns were you sufficiently specific to ask that all returns should be included? —Anything they raised. The form on which the information was to be supplied is set out on the statement produced before the Committee. It was expected that everything raised on the dairying-area would be stated as the revenue from the farm. 47. Mr. J. R. Hamilton.] The principal comparisons could only be got from a farm practically used for nothing else but dairying?— Yes. Winnard Milton SINGLETON examined. (No. 2.) 1. The Chairman.] What is your position?—l am Assistant Director of the Dairy Division. 2. Will you make your statement to the Committee?— Yes. Dr. Reakes asked me to get for the Committee the figures indicating the estimated amount of butter produced. The figures are 28,000 tons, the local consumption being estimated at 11,000 tons for the twelve months. That is not, necessarily all factory butter : some of it includes farm butter. We exported last year 14,000 tons, and we would have available for export somewhere about 17,000 tons. There was more left over at the end of the season. I thought it might interest the Committee to know that the amount of butter graded during the last, four seasons has been receding. The figures arc— 1916-17 season, 469,377 owl, ; 1917-18 season. 432,269 cwt.; 1918-19 season, 393,399 cwl.; [919-20 season, 380,051 cwt. Cheese has increased during thai period, the figures being—l9l6-17 season, 1,011,956 cwt.; 1917 IS season, 1,080,309 cwl. : 1918 19 season, 1,120, 157 cwt. ; 1919-20