124 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



VARIETY TESTS OF WHEAT. 



By D. Me Alpine. 



Scope of the Work- 



These experimenfcs were continued at Port Fairy under tlie charge 

 of Mr. Wm. Goldie, and althougli 1902 was not generally regarded as 

 a rusty >'ear on account of the drought, yet on low-lying, damp ground 

 at Port Fairy there was sufficient to discriminate between rust-liable 

 and rust-resisting varieties. In the early part of the growing season, 

 when rust began to attack the crops, it was inclined to be dry, and, 

 therefore, the rust did not make much headway, but later on there 

 was sufficient moisture to encourage the parasite, and the late crops 

 were inclined to be rusty. 



As usual, there were a number of single seed plots in which new 

 varieties of crossbreds were tried on a small scale in order to test their 

 general fitness for further cultivation, and big plots, consisting of a 

 few acres each, in which the more promising varieti.es were tested on 

 a sufficiently large scale to allow of their yielding, milling and rust- 

 resisting })roperties being practically determined. 



Mr. Farrer, v/ith his usual generosit}', sent me some of his best 

 crossbreds which he had proved to be of very high excellence in the 

 mill. A few of them were noted as specially adapted for the Mallee, 

 but since experiments there had to be discontinued owing to lack of 

 funds, notwithstanding the very promising practical results obtained 

 in previous years, these varieties were all perforce grown at Port 

 Fairy. 



Ml-. Farrer, as Wheat Experimentalist of New South Wales, had 

 already expressed his high appreciation of variety tests of wheat being 

 conducted in the Mallee, and in a recent letter to me said . — " It seems 

 to be a pity that you are giving up experimental work in the Mallee. 

 It is one of the places where you ought to continue to do it. Your 

 soils there are doubtless greatly wanting in vegetable matter, and for 

 that reason, I fear, you will never be able to grow any but weak-flour 

 varieties." 



As the result of this season's test, the following five crossbreds have 

 been retained for further trial : — 



i. 30 (m3). 



2. Nonpareil x Sheltie. 



3. Bunyip. 



4. Federation. 



5. C (F.) 



In the big plots several varieties were sown, such as Rerraf, Kanji, 

 and Leak's Kust-resisting, but none of them were reaped for giain. 

 witli the exception of Rerraf This vaiiety has done so well, and is 



