li—29a.

No doubt administrative advantages would accrue if some of the existing Rabbit Boards were amalgamated and the areas of others extended. It is recommended that this aspect be further, investigated. The Commission is satisfied that, where Rabbit Boards do not or cannot function efficiently, the work of rabbit-eradication should be directly administered by the State. It is, however, of the opinion that the Board system is desirable where the Boards are prepared to carry out the work adequately, and it is recognized that details of administration must be adapted to the needs of the different districts. General Research and Advisory Work. A considerable amount of evidence was submitted which indicated that much valuable research work applicable to sheep-farming has been, or is being, carried out. It is recommended that the investigational work in progress should be continued and in some directions extended. It is recommended further that provision be made as early as possible for research work, which is not now being carried out, relative to the problems of sheep-farming in— (i) The high-country pastoral lands of the South Island ; and (ii) The hill-country sheep-farming land of the North Island, and particularly that portion of it which is subject to considerable deterioration. In respect of both these classes of sheep-farming country knowledge is available as to how improvement could be carried out, but there is a general lack of knowledge of the economics, under specific conditions, of various measures which would effect improvement. Further, it is possible that research would disclose other, and maybe more effective and more economic, means of improvement. To-day we depend of necessity largely upon mere opinion as to the best ways of utilizing the land under consideration, and only as the result of suitable research will this opinion be displaced by the knowledge which is so much more desirable. The problems of the two types of country under consideration are of such gravity, urgency, and extent that the required investigational work should be initiated with the minimum, of delay. It is a matter for regret that the recommendations of the Southern Pastoral Lands Commission of 1920 were not more fully implemented. It is considered that wider application should be made of the fleece-testing work which is now being carried out, and that the most effective way of bringing about this desirable result is the attaching to the Department of Agriculture of a suitably staffed service to foster wool-production-improvement work, including not only the fleece-testing to which reference has been already made, but also woolclassing and matters relating to wool marketing, including binning. In this connection the Commission recommends the inauguration of a suitable system of registration of wool-classers, to be based eventually upon appropriate training and examination. It is considered that as full use as is desirable is not made by sheep-farmers of the official advisory service which is provided. In this connection it is deemed worth while to mention the free-seed-testing service which is made available to farmers by the Department of Agriculture, and also the information which is similarly obtainable in respect of stock remedies, stock-licks, and stock feeds. It is desirable that the Commission should draw attention to the information made available by the Meteorological Service to farmers generally and also to individual farmers. Research regarding Economics oj? Sheep Industry. A noteworthy fact in respect of the sheep-farming industry which has emerged as a result of the investigations of this Commission is the considerable and regrettable lack of authoritative information relative to the statistical position of the industry and to its general economics. It is, for instance, impossible to obtain from official sources data relative to such an important matter as the labour employed in the industry. Likewise, it is impossible to obtain sufficient data relative to farms on which sheep are kept to determine how many of these farms are satisfactory economic units. Further, when the Commission sought assuredly impartial and authoritative information about the economic position of sheep-farmers it found it necessary to take what may be termed emergency measures, which involved co-opting the services of four State institutions to carry out a hurried investigation designed to provide an amount of information barely sufficient for the purpose in hand. The sparsity of information of the type specified is due not to any failure to appreciate the value of the information, but to failure to provide the facilities for obtaining it. Enough has been said to indicate that New Zealand is sadly lacking in exact authoritative information concerning such important matters as the economics of land utilization and the methods and costs of producing, selling, and distributing in sheep-farming. It is clear also that only systematic, suitably designed, and comprehensive investigation carried out regularly will supply the information that should be available. Just how thorough and extensive such investigation should be remains to be considered. At one end of the scale there is the position which to-day obtains in New Zealand ; at the other end there is the position attained by Central Europe, in which a register is kept of every farm, this register being comprehensive enough to provide an indication of the production from season to season during the year of each farm and of the efficiency of its operation. It is considered that the needs of New Zealand could be met adequately by adopting a course intermediate between the two extremes —a course which would ensure all required information becoming available regarding a truly representative cross.-section of the sheep-farming industry.

11