Report of the Vegetable Pathologist. 253 



take some years of experiment to obtain what you require, but I feel 

 sure that you are more likely to succeed if you direct your attention 

 to obtaining a rust-resisting- wheat than by trying specifics or by 

 manures." 



VAEif:TY Tests of Wheat, Oats and Barley. 



The work of testing promising varieties still continues, and several 

 of the cross-bred wheats which Mr. Farrer generously forwards every 

 year for trial, have been retained on account of their superior qualities. 

 Some of them are more suitable for the Mallee than coastal districts, 

 and it is to be hoped that when Experimental Stations are officially 

 established in different localities such a special district as the Mallee 

 will receive consideration. The work done at Port Fairy for a number 

 of years is now beginning to bear fruit as the results obtained there 

 are becoming better known. New varieties of wheat, oats and barley 

 obtained from different countries are constantly being tried, and 

 wherever they give promise of being useful additions, small samples 

 are sent out to different districts for testing their suitability to other 

 localities. In addition, new crosses of wheat from Mr. Farrer are 

 being regularly and carefully tested and their qualities fixed, and the 

 selection and improvement of the seed has always been recognized as 

 a leading factor in success. Thus, in the case of Rerraf wheat, which 

 yielded at the rate of 48 bushels per acre in the past season, the 

 advantage of constant selection in improving the plant and increasing 

 the yield is clearly seen. A small sample was first received from 

 Mr. Farrer in 1 898, and selected seeds gi'own in the single seed plots. 

 Then the best plants only were selected for next year's seeding, and 

 in 1899 it was grown on a much larger scale. Sufficient was obtained 

 to grow a plot of Ij acres in 1900, and it has now been grown on a 

 large scale for throe successive years, yielding at the rate of 31^^, 40, 

 and 48 bushels respectively. The elements of successful cereal- 

 growing are all attended to at Port Fairy — growing suitable varieties, 

 careful cultivation, judicious manuring, and a rigorous selection of the 

 best plants with plump clean seed. 



The celebrated Garton varieties of wheat, oats, and barley, already 

 referred to are being thoroughly tested in the Goulburn Valley this 

 season as well as at Port Fairy and Leoiigatha. These new breeds 

 are the result of crossing experiments begun in 1880 by Garton Bros, 

 at Newton-le- Willows in Lancashire. They obtained the cultivated 

 and wild varieties of grain from all parts of the world and crossed 

 them with the kinds grown in Britain. The improved varieties thus 

 secured have marked a new era in regard to quality and yield, for 

 some of the new breeds of oats, for example, Waverley, have yielded 

 as high as 104 bushels per acre. The following varieties are being 

 tested : Wheats — New Era, Red King, White Monarch, White Pearl. 

 Oats — Waverley, Tartar King, Pioneer Black, Goldfinder, Abundance, 

 and three unnamed varieties. Barleys — Stand well, Invincible, 

 Brewer's Favourite, and two new breeds. 



It must be boi-ne in mind, however, that a high reputation 

 possessed by a variety in another country is no guarantee that it will 



