168 



■/ minial nf Af/r/ciilfiirc, ^'i(■^()|■i(l. I Hi AIakcii, 1919. 



varieties have not yet been thrashed, hul ;ivaiL'il)le particuhirs are 

 recorded in the tahle hereunder, and llic i)i'oduee is illustrated iii 

 Plate Xo. III. 



Table Xo. III. 



It is int-ended to test, during the coming, season, all of the ahove- 

 mcntioned varieties against the best types of Gip}>.sland seed, and alsO' 

 to make an earlier sowing than last year of the vari(>ties whicli failed 

 to genninate then. 



" Flax Wilt." 



Flax, like most other plants, is subject to disease, the most destruc- 

 tive of which is known as Flax Wilt. This is a parasitic disease, which 

 attacks the stem and cuts off the natural sap supj)ly, thus causing th& 

 plants to wilt. As the disease has been observed for the first time in 

 Victoria this year, it is interesting to note that some of the American 

 varieties are said to have been selected for the reason that they were 

 resistant to this particular disease. 



Improvement by Selection. 



The illustrations fairly indicate the great range of variation between 

 the several varieties experimented with; and, while the differences in 

 the coarseness, branching, or tillering of the stem may, to some extent, 

 be influenced by the season, soil, and thickness of the crop, there was 

 also an apparent variation in habit of growth " Avithin " most of the 

 varieties. The differences noticed at Werribee were in — 



1. Height of plant and, therefore, length of fibre. 



2. Yield and quality of stems for fibre production. 



3. Habit of growtli, tillering, or branching of stem.s, &c. 



4. Yield of seed. 



5. Size of seed. 



6. Date of ri])ening. 



7. Oil content of seed. 



These variations indicate the possibility of improvement by selection, 

 and advantage has been taken of the opportunity to select a few plants 

 showing apparently improved characters. The seed from these will be 

 grown in short stud rows this year, and thus possibly better strains may 

 be isolated. 



While the tests carried out at Werribee may be considered as 

 preliminary ones, only touching the surface of the subject, they are 



