Rangitikei Advovcate. THURSDAY, DEC. 5, 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXII, Issue 9019, 5 December 1907, Page 2

Rangitikei Advovcate. THURSDAY, DEC. 5, 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

I is always interesting to road citj rnals when they lay down the ■. on agricultural matters. The ming Post, which in the origior of the agitation against what b pleased to call "child slavery" ' again distinguished istelf by an Wk on figures put forward by 'essor Lowrie, of Lincoln Col- \ f when examined bsforo the [Ciliatiou Board on agricultural [tors. Mr Lowrie affirmed iu the fee of his evidenco tli.it owing to [high price of labour farmers b growing by preference less table crops. As an example, be jfcioned that a farmer would pay pn aero to grow turnips worth 1 £2 to £3 au acre Hither than [from £'l JOs to £~> an acre: to r mangold-) worth from £l'J ro |an aero. "Tb.it i*." says the K "averaging the fignr. ■>, the ftr prefers to pay HO3 au acre- to |sos crop, instead of paying T.'Js Me to get a 2JOs crop. L'vi in Jitter caso the farmer gains 283 ftnt on his labour «ost pur acre, m-the former case lie gains only l.ler cent. Since, therefore, lie liftke more money out of manMthaa oat of turnip«, it cannot

1B the price of labour which deters he farS irom producing tno.prop i Jhlohyields the greater profitajjle "tarn. H the farmer had t e noney to pay labour, plainly ho 3 how the costlier crop, because ie would pet a better return from taTaSatoeufc Unless, therefore \tr Ijowrio can alte.r his average SgnreChis arguing doesn' t hold turnips,- let tilouo mange-lds. _ It is the liice of land, not the price oi labour,Tat i, "the root of the How Zealand farmer's trouble. He pays fo much for his land, • generally sneaking, that an average crop, in average seasons, little more than meets the interest on his javested capital. Consequently ho lias not enough money to pay for mangolil labonr/and often is hard put to it to find the money for turnip-labour. If the writer in tho Post, instead oi ovolviug these conclusions from Ins inner consciousness, had. aspect a, practical farmer why he did not put 100 acres into mangolds instead ol turuips lie would have received tho reply that farmers could not got labour to hoo mangolds. The difference between the two crops the export would explain >vas iat while on most laud a fair crop ot tu"nips or swedes could bo produced Sithout hoeing it was .absolute ly necessary to lion and single mangolds. Tho scarcity of labour is only another expression for the high price of labour, as no doubt plenty ot men could bo found to hoo mangolds at wages of (say) SX, a week. Even a millionaire would not find i profitable to employ very much high i priced labour on his farm, and the average farmer, though not a millionaire, is neither so penniless nor so blind to his own interest as the Post believes. MARTON, ivufortuuatcly, has soon had vet another severe Lesson as to the necessity for a good supply Another valuable blocs oi ! buildings has been destroyed by. a fire which broke out in tho day anil . which might havo been suppressed iu its carlv stages, or at any rate have beeuVovontcd from spreading to other "buildings, had a propor water supplv been available, we b'dievo that the loss on property m Mar ton which has been destroyed by fire even during the last two mouths would be more than sufficient to pay a few years' interest on such _ a loan as would be required to give tho property-owners safety and aiJ tl-p people a plentiful supply of pure water In addition to tho actual loss of tliviso whoso properties wore dissipated in *y,ofeo and flamo yesterday, there is also tho consequent lo«-« of tniiie .iust at the tku.o Ol the ye-H- vvli-'ii t!nr tradesman's best 's -■■ i-'-.-i-t-f >s vcjiped. It seems fo us ■' l!i:it evru if it costs sovoral thous•"uls Marlon should endeavour to rot a proper supply, and should not bo satisfied with any makeshu.t scheme Even if tho initial rost was great, a largo portion of _ H would bo recouped by lower insurance charges, and by tho saying of property, to say nothing ot the advantages to be gained by having a good supply of pure water.