lo April, 1909.] Re-port of Wheat Improvement Committee. 



243 



varieties which mature in early mid-season as, for example, Federation, 

 College Purple Straw, Wallace, Jade, and others, give the highest average 

 vields. 



The following table shows some interesting comparisons between the 

 periods of some familiar varieties : — 



Variety. 



Bunyip 



Florence 



Comeback 



Federation 



Jumbuck 



Plover 



Jade .. 



John Brown . . . 



Bobs... 



College Purple Straw 



Yandilla King 



Australian Talavera 



Marshall's No. 3 



June 1 



Date of 

 Headintr out. 



Oct. 15 



,/ -24 



n 26 



„ 31 

 Nov. 2 



„ 2 



„ 2 



„ 4 



n 4 



,, 6 



" 7 



n 9 



. 10 



Drought Resistance. 



Ability to withstand the not infrequent dry conditions in Northern Vic- 

 toria consitutes a most important factor in deciding the suitability or other- 

 wise of varieties for certain districts. The most noticeable effects of dry 

 weather are withering of the tip of the ear and the pinching of the grain. 

 The table below throws some interesting light on the subject : — 



Quality of Grain. 



Critical observations have been made regarding the quality of the grain. 

 Plumpness is highly desirable from the farmer's stand-point, whereas hard- 

 ness concerns the miller more particularly, and translucency, which is 

 usually held to indicate flour value, is interesting to the baker. 



