THE FARMING INDUSTRY

Press, Issue 22599, 3 January 1939, Page 5

THE FARMING INDUSTRY

TO TBI EDITOR 01 TEE FREES. Sir, —The letter under the above heading, signed “Cockatoo,” was apparently written whilst its author was suffering from a recovery from Christmas cheer. It spells dyspepsia from “Sir” to “Yours etc.” Now, 'there are in New Zealand some old-time farmers who, owning their own freehold farms, refused to be cajoled by brokers and land salesmen during the boon times, but stayed put, keeping their heads and their property. Today, these old fellows, the genuine farmers, are sitting pretty and nobody hears a word from them. There is another type, whom I call “synthetic farmers,” who were attracted to the land, hypnotised by the afore-men-tioned brokers and land salesmen, who were no more fitted to be farmers than the average man in the street, who never lived on a farm. Money is not coming in fast enough to enable them to keep up the payments they undertook (with their eyes open) to make, regularly, ana they put up a howl. In fact, somp of them holler without any cause at all.

Now, with regard to this "costs” trouble, I am going to suggest that if these alleged farmers would only stick to their knitting and do something besides moan, instead of chasing round to every stock sale within a radius of 30 miles (when half of them could not buy a box of matches without the permission of the mortgagee) the “costs of production" trouble would be partially, if not wholly eliminated, and decent accommodation and humane treatment of the seasonal employee would do the rest. Oh, ana may I suggest to “Cockatoo” that magnesia and milk rpight help him to get rid of his dyspepsia.—Yours etc. \ RAGLAN. January 2, 1939. £