so June, 191 2.] Wheat and its Cultivation. 337 



As was remarked above, time is a most important factor in the con- 

 -solidation of the seed bed, and the most effective consolidation results from 

 -early fallowing. 



With late spring fallowing much of the winter rain may be lost by 

 evaporation and surface drainage, and the main benefit accruing from fal- 

 lowing thereby lost. Unfortunately, results of continued and exhaustive 

 local experiments on this important subject are wanting. Those, however, 

 who annually fallow large areas of land, know by experience how promi- 

 nently early fallowed land shows up against late fallowed land, especially 

 when the fallowing season happens to be at all dry. Though early fallow- 

 ing is justified as a general principle in wheat-growing areas, it must 

 be remembered that with some soils it is not always practicable. Heavy 

 -clays, which tend to break down rapidly under the influence of winter 

 rains, and set like a macadamized road with equal rapidity with the advent 

 •of dry weather, should be better left till the lighter types of soil have 

 Teceived attention. 



The practice of early autumn discing as a preparation for winter plough- 

 ing is frequently adopted in the drier areas with very satisfactory results. 



The disc ds put over the land in February or March, and the ploughing 

 done at leisure after seeding. This not only provides a satisfactorv mulrh 

 early in the season, but it enables autumn rains to readily penetrate ihe 

 subsoil. Ploughing operations are greatly facilitated, and the loose, finely 

 divided mulch turned over by the plough to the bottom of the furrow slice 

 greatly aids in establishing a satisfactory capillarv connexion between the 

 subsurface soil and the moisture-laden subsoil. 



The practical difficulty in carrying out this process is that in many parts 

 of the State the soil sets so hard in the dry summer weather that discing 

 is precluded. Otherwise there is no reason why the operation should not 

 be commenced as soon after harvest as possible. 



Depth of Working. 



In deciding the depth to which he should plough and work his land, 

 the farmer must be guided mainly by the character and depth of the soil 

 and subsoil. 



No arbitrary rules can be laid down, but each must decide for himself. 

 Obviously deep working would be quite undesirable wherever the soil was 

 shallow, or where is rested on an inferior type of subsoil. It is also very 

 undesirable to bring a crude, raw clay subsoil to the surface. On soils that 

 are naturally deep, however it is well to give, wiierever possible, a good 

 stiff furrow. Provided that the soil is of sufficient depth, and the 

 subsoil is satisfactory, deep working is better suited to the requirements of 

 an arid climate than shallow working. Such working materially increases 

 the storage capacitv of the soil for moisture, and provides for an inter-play 

 of moisture and air at a greater depth than shallow working, and thus 

 leads directly to the formation of a greater supply of available plant food. 

 Of course the beneficial effects of such deep working are not always 

 immediately apparent, and in conducting investigations into the relative 

 merits of deep and shallow working the test should be continued for at 

 least a number of years. Wherever deep working is practised it is neces- 

 sary, if wheat is to be sown, that the ploughing should be done many months 

 before seeding. No plant suffers more from the effects of a loose, open, 

 non-consolidated seed bed than wheat, and if it is intended to give deep 

 tillage, care must be taken to see that fallowing is started early in the 



