254 



■Journal of Agriculture. Victoria. [25 April, 191i 





lands. Only at one centre 

 were the plots sown on fal- 

 lowed land, and here the 

 average yield of the four 

 plots was 43 bushels per 

 acre. The season was very 

 favorable for wheat-grow- 

 ing, the rainfall being 3 to 

 4 inches above the average. 

 The average rainfall of 

 these areas is low, but it is 

 quite sufficient, provided 

 proper tillage methods are 

 followed, to render wheat- 

 growing safe and profit- 



able. 



When 

 farming 



the systematic 

 methods charac- 

 teristic of the older settled 

 districts are applied to 

 these new areas, their 

 average yields will increase 

 by at least 50 per cent. 

 Bare fallowing to conserve 

 moisture is an absolute 

 essential for good crops in 

 these districts, yet only 1 

 acre in 10 was sown on 

 fallowed land in 1916. On 

 the other hand in the 

 Wimmera, where fallowing 

 is less necessary than in the 

 Mallee, there is only 1 acre 

 of wheat in 10 not sown 

 on fallowed laud. Only in 

 very isolated instances were 

 sheep to be found in these 

 newer mallee areas. As 

 farming methods improve, 

 the association of small 

 flocks of sheep with wheat- 

 growing will be essential, 

 and will open up another 

 avenue of profit to the 

 mallee grower. 



