13-' 



Journal of AgriciiUiire. 



[9 March, 1908. 



light upon the problem of soil treatment. This factor is, in my opinion, 

 the only foundation upon which permanent success in agriculture can be 

 built up, hence the comparison of the farmer's own method of bare fal- 

 low with the systems of rape fallow and subsoil fallow. The two last- 

 named, particularly the latter, are not universally practised in the wheat 

 growing districts, although common enough in other parts of the State 

 for other crops. Taking the mean yield of both wheats under each kind 

 of soil treatment as representing average conditions, some interesting food 

 for thought is revealed. 



It will be nbted that in the Wimmera and Mallee, the ordinary bare 

 fallow has produced superior returns to the subsoil fallow and the subsoil 

 fallow superior returns to the rape fallow. In the Northern Plain dis- 

 tricts, on the other hand, the subsoil fallow takes precedence over the 

 rape fallow and bare fallow in that order. These figures are doubly 

 interesting when contrasted with identical experiments on these same fields 

 in 1905. At that time all the seed was furnished by the farmer, and the 

 results as set out below indicate a very close resemblance to those of the 

 season just passed. 



Season 1905-6. 



Under any circumstances, the results of two seasons are insufficient 

 to establish any concrete facts, and it may not be out of place to again 

 urge {)atience until the completion ot the experiment in 1911. There 

 is, however, sufficient evidence to lead one to believe that on certain types 

 of soil, subsoiling or deeper cultivation may be of service in insuring an 

 increase in the yield of wheat sufficient to justify the extra cost of pre- 

 paration. It is unlikely that in the matter of subsoiling alone, will be 

 found the solution of the problem of low wheat yields, but undertaken 

 in conjunction with more prolific yielding wheat varieties and a scheme 

 of crop rotation there is everv reason for thinking that better results will 

 ensue. 



Effects of Subsoiling on the Growth of the Wheat Plant. 



Whatever may have been the effects of subs'oiling on the production 

 of grain, it certainly showed to advantage in the increased growth and 



