15 Nov., 1919.] Directions in which Agriculture may he Developed. 649 



flax for sefd purposes. Crops being raised for seed require the same 

 treatment as wlieat, and can be harvested with a stripper or harvester. 



The average yield is about 10 bushels per acre, and the seed is worth 

 15s. to £1 per bushel at the present moment. The imports of linseed 

 into i^ustralia are valued at £500,000 per annum. There is no reason 

 why the linseed required for Australia should not be raised in Victoria. 



Sugar-beet. — Another minor industry which gives great promise is 

 sugar-beet. It so happens that the only sugar-beet factory in Australia 

 is located in one of the driest belts of territory in Gippsland. 



In European countries, and America, sugar-beet is one of the most 

 profitable crops that can be grown. Its culture has revolutionized agri- 

 culture wherever it is introduced, and raises the production of all crops 

 grown in rotation with it. 



In America, the sugar-beet industry has made tremendous strides. 

 In one district of !N"orthern Colorado which I visited, a company was 

 formed in 1901. In that year, 739 farmers grew sugar-beets for the 

 company. In 1915, there were 5,456 farmers growing beet for the com- 

 pany. It is evident that the direct and indirect benefits to these farmers 

 must be considerable, because they can produce potatoes, lucerne, and 

 cereals to perfection, and unless the beet gave better returns than these 

 crops, they would not continue its cultivation in increasing areas every 

 year. 



The future of the beet-sugar industry will be judged from the results 

 obtained at Maffra. A study of the distribution of the rainfall at 

 Maffra for the past twenty-five years shows that, in the majority of 

 seasons, the rainfall during the growing period of the crop is insufficient 

 to assure profitable production. 



This will, however, be remedied by the provision of irrigation facili- 

 ties on the j^ewry and Boisdale flats. Provision is being made for the 

 erection of a large storage reservoir on the Macalister River, which will 

 provide irrigation water for at least 10,000 acres of the richest land 

 in Gippsland. This will enable the beet industry to be established on 

 a sound footing, and will enable full crops of beets to be obtained every 

 year. The Maffra factory has had many ups and downs, but, in spite 

 of short acreages, indifferent crops, and obsolete machinery, the industry 

 pays its way. When irrigation facilities are provided, and the limiting 

 factor to profitable culture removed, the sugar-beet industry will become 

 an important source of wealth to the State. 



Tobacco. — Another industry which promises to become an important 

 source of wealth is the tobacco industry. Over £1,000,000 worth of 

 tobacco is imported into Australia every year. Tobacco will grow well 

 in most parts of Victoria, and there is an extensive area of country in 

 l^orth-eastern Victoria where the soil and climate are eminently suitable 

 for its production. For many years farmers have grown tobacco, but 

 until recently the prices were not satisfactory. Special varieties of seed 

 were some time since introduced from America, and experiments made 

 in curing the leaf by a special process called flue-curing, and the results 

 have been most satisfactory. The quality of the leaf has greatly 

 improved, and so also has the price. One of the advantages of the 

 flue-curing system is that the curing of the leaf may be absolutely con- 

 trolled, and the tobacco treated in this way has been found much 

 superior to that cured in open sheds. 



