§ 68. Lieut.-Colonel HILDERasked the Minister of Agriculture what is the average rate per mile for railway carriage of a ton of wheat in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the United States respectively; and will he give the House comparative figures from the same countries, showing the rates per mile for the 31 railway carriage of small parcels of agricultural produce such as milk, butter eggs, and poultry?
§ Mr. NEALI have been asked to reply. I am not in a position to give comparable figures for Canada, Australia, and the United States, but those relating to the United Kingdom I will circulate with the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. LYLE-SAMUELMay I ask the President of the Board of Agriculture, in reference to the latter part of the question, whether he is aware that at present, apart altogether from the question of freight, and arising out of his previous answer, the more milk a farmer produces at this moment, the greater his loss, and that every farmer is compelled at this moment to sell his milk at a loss?
§ Following are the figures referred to:
§ The average length of haul by railway and the average receipt per ton per mile for wheat in Great Britain during the four weeks ended 10th October, 1920, were 55 miles and 3.05d. per ton per mile respectively.
§ The average receipts per journey during 1921 for the traffics named in the second part of the question were as follows:—
| d. | ||
| Milk | 1.67 | Per gallon |
| Butter, cream, eggs and game | .59 | Per lb. |
| Poultry, live and dead | .57 | Per lb. |