§ Captain TERRELLasked the Minister of Agriculture if his Department possesses any statistics in regard to any selected farms to show the average net loss or profit during the last year: and, if he does not possess such statistics, will he arrange to obtain them in the interests both of the farmers and of the agricultural labourers, since thereby the exact facts with regard to present-clay farming will be available for the public'?
§ Sir R. SANDERSThe Ministry does not collect any statistics of the nature indicated, and there are great difficulties in obtaining representative information of a reliable and trustworthy character, though steps have been taken to set on1716W foot investigations of the kind by the appointment of costings officers at some of the agricultural colleges. I would refer-the hon. and gallant Member to a Paper presented by Mr. Ruston, of the Leeds University, to the Farmers' Club on 26th March, 1923, and to Papers by Mr. Orwin, of the Institute of Research into Agricultural Economics at- Oxford.