250 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. W. \_Mar. 2, 1908. 



these cxjicrimrnts i.s to (Icteiiuiuc wlR'tln-r the new wlieals jtiodueid l)y tlie 

 Department are equal or superior to the old ones, from a farmer's standpoint — 

 that is, when jud<j;ed by their ability to yield well. From otlier standpoints, 

 iiieludiii.i,' those of the miller and baker, each of the new wheats, before lieing 

 made available for distribution, has been proved to be superior in one or 

 more respects to those already in cultivation. 



The varieties available for trial are — Jiubs, lUinyip, Cleveland, Come- 

 back, Federation, Firbank, Florence, Gen*oa, dohii P)rown, Jonathan, 

 Jumbuck, Rymer, Tarragon, and Thew. Of these, Florence, Genoa, 

 Firbank, and Thew have not been available foi- farmers before this season. 

 Florence and Genoa have, in our trial plots, shown themselves, under severe- 

 trial, to be practically smut-proof, anfl, in conscfjuence, seed of them does not 

 require to be bluestoned or treated with any other fungicide for the preven- 

 tion of smut. Firbank is a very early wheat, chiefly valuable for liay : tlie 

 object aimed at, when breeding it, being to produce a wheat as valual)le for 

 hav as the well-known Berthoud or Zealand— -which is one of its [jarents, 

 but much earliei-. Thew is also an early wheat, and, because of its jjromising 

 behaviour as a resister of rust at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, is 

 likely to prove valuable, particularly for hay, in districts liable to rust. 



The other wheats are more or less known to our farmers, and many of 

 them can now be regarded as standard varieties in some districts. 



A farmer may select any foui' of these for trial, or he may leave the 

 selection of some, or all of them, to the othcers of the Department, after 

 stating what varieties he has tried and which of them in the past have proved 

 most suitable for his conditions. 



To each experimenter a field-book, in \\ Inch to record planting and other 

 details, general directions as to the conduct of experiments, and specific 

 instructions as to the carrying out of the i)articulaT experiment undertaken, 

 are forwarded with the seed. These particulars are as follows : — 



Parmeks' Experiments. 



General Directions. 



The ground chosen for the experiments shoulil he typical of the land umlcr cultivation 

 on the farm, and should be as uniform as it is possil)le to get it. 



A very suitable place for most experiments- -otlier tilings being equal— is near the 

 centre of a paddock which, during the present season, is being planted with similar 

 crops to those experimented Mith. Owing to the likely depredations of rabbits, birds, 

 &c-., it is not advisable to have the experiments near any of the boundaries of tlie paddock, 

 and for obvious reasons it is necessary to have the plots removed from the intluences 

 likely to be exercised by growing trees, buildings, itc. 



Unless specially directed otherwise, the whole of the plots shcuild be ploughed and 

 prepared in a uniform and in a similar manner to the remainder of the paddock in wliich 

 they are situated. Thus their preparation can take place at the same time and in the 

 same manner as the remainder of the paddock. 



After the preparation has been completed, and just before the planting is to be done, 

 will in most cases be found the best time for definitely marking out the plots. 



The plots may vary in shape, but are preferably rectangular, and the results from them 

 will be more reliable and less affected by inequalities in the soil if the plots are long and 

 narrow rather than square or nearly square. 



Whilst plots which are only as wide as the drill (half-round) will be more satisfactory 

 and will furnish more reliable results than a wider plot, yet when all the circumstances 



