356 AgriciiUural Gazette of N.S.IF. \3Iay 2, 1908. 



wln'ii it is Isiiuwu that ill a favouralile year a I'aniiri' will ..ftcii receive 

 for his (Tdp more tliaii the capital value of his huHJ. Many instances 

 could l)e given of mm who started in a small way and who. after ])uttiiig- 

 in theii' crop, had to leave home to earn llu' iiceessaries of life until the 

 wheat was readv to hiirvest, i)iit wlio now have steady incomes and own 

 l)ro])crlies and plant whose value lauis into tour fiiiures. 



Climate and Rainfall. 



In view of the fact that in the eaily days (rf the industi'y wheat -i^rowiiig- 

 in New South Wales was c<mlini'd to the iiudst regions of the coastal 

 districts, which have an annual rainfall of -in to 10 inches, it is interest- 

 ing to note that the largest recent additions to the aica under eroji are 

 lands on the Western slopes, wdiere the average annual I'aiid'all is I'O inches 

 and under. The cultivation of wdieat in the coastal areas has, indeed, now 

 been practicalh- aliandone(l on account of the prevalence of rust, coml)ine(l 

 with the discoverv that the driei' distidcts are suitable l)ecaus<' the crop can 

 be more easily and more i-lieaply grown . The bulk of the wheat is now grown 

 in the districts bordering on the '20-incli raiid'all, many of them having 

 less. An average annual rainfall of 20 to '1~) inches is considered ample 

 for wheat-growing, and preferal)le to a heavier one. Actual re-sults have 

 ])roved the industr\" to be highlx' ]iroJitable in <listricts with less tliaii 

 20 inches. A yield of over 'M bushels has l)een oljtaiiied with less than 

 1!) inches in the year. What is of more importance than the actual inches 

 of I'ain leceived is the iieriod when it falls. i'ain is most lieneticial in 

 the early autumn, to facilitate ]doughing, and in the spring at the time 

 when the wdieat is heading and tiowering : and falls at such times assure 

 ail abundant harvest. The wheat distidcts of the State are fortunate in 

 benefiting by rain at these particulai' periods. 



The very di'yness of the wheat districts in summer, which at one time 

 was considei'e(l fatal to their suitability fiu' wheat, is now riglith- con- 

 sidered one of their advantages, for such dryness is favourable for the- 

 production of high-class grain, and because of it rust need only be feared 

 in unusually wet years, hay-making is facilitate(l, and the crop for grain 

 can i)e left in the held until thoroughly ripe, when tliev can be harvesteil 

 with spei-ial machinery and bagged ready for market at a cost of 4s. tiv 

 Gs. per acre (excluding the cost of bags). 



The yields in the dry districts of New South Wales are certainly not 

 as large as in tlu' moister ones, but the averagi' return is about 11 l)ushels. 

 Wln'ii this is compared wiih the '.\'l bushels which is the average vield 

 of <o'eat IJritain it s<'eiiis alarmingly small; hut such a return as is 

 obtaineil ill our di'y districts leaves a very reasonable marein of proht, 

 for the cost of production is c(U-respondiiigly low. In such distidets it 

 is estimated that a cro|i of S bushels per acre, sold at 2s. lid. jier bushel, 

 will |iay the grower. 'Idie average i-eturn l)y no means indieates what the 

 dry districts are capaltle of, for the \ iehls of p<Mir and unskilled farmers. 

 reduce the avera<;e for a district. 



