10 Aug., 1917.] Damage by Insecfx fo Grain in Store. 497 



percentage of mnisturc is a high one (10 per eeiit.j and when wheat is 

 first bagged under ordinary circumstances, it does not contain nearly 

 sutticient moisture to enable any weevils, however freely they may gain 

 access to it, to increase and multi])ly. 



Unless moisture is actually added from without, the grain remains 

 weevil-proof. Thus if stored in a fairly dry climate, and completely 

 protected from tlie weather, and from the absorption of moisture from 

 the soil, it is perfectly certain that the grain may be stored indefinitely 

 without danger from weevil. 



The problem of the storage of grain in large quantities for more 

 than a few months, has never had to be met in Australia until within 

 the last few years. The prevailing methods of transport and of storage 

 appear to be cxtn-mely crude and wasteful, and, what is to the ])rc.sout 

 purjiose, very favorable to the development of weevils. This (the 

 presence of conditions favorable to the grain-weevils) holds good, more 

 especially of the grain stored on the seaboard. There, even if the pro- 

 tection from the rain water were complete, there is reason to believe 

 that with tlie moist air freely penetrating the mass of stored bags, the 

 moisture absorbed, even with grain arriving dry, may soon reach the 

 point which favours the rapid multiplication of the pest. But, unfor- 

 tunately, this moistening of the grain is greatly accelerated by the pre- 

 vailing methods of storage, which do not by any means afford complete 

 protection from heavy rains. Even where, as at Darling Island, Sydney, 

 the bags are slacked under galvanized iron sheds, the construction of the 

 latter is such that during heavy rainstorms w^ater finds its way freely 

 into portions of the stacks. When this has once happened, either the 

 whole mass of bags must be taken down, tjie w'et grain dried and re- 

 bagged, and the whole re-stacked again, or, sooner or later, according to 

 the temperature, weevil will flourish in the moistened grain and great 

 damage will result. 



When, as at Wliite Bay and Enfield, near Sydney, the .stacks are not 

 under cover of sheds, but are built on a flooring of old sleepers, and are 

 roofed over by sheets of galvanized iron, their sides being protected by 

 bagging, the wetting of more or less of the grain is ]5ractically certain 

 whenever a heavy rainstorm occurs, accompanied by a strong wind. 



The los.ses through damage by weevils can be done away with, or, at 

 least, kept within control, if the present system of handling, storage, 

 and transport be replaced by bulk-handling. 



Our conditions of wheat production in Australia are difi'erent from 

 those in America and India. Our wheat lands are not yet compacted, 

 but are broken up and scattered all over the States, making bulk- 

 handling a difficult proposition both to the farmers and tlie railway 

 authorities. The farmers sti'ip or hai-vest their wheat into bags in the 

 paddocks; the policy of the railway authorities has been to ])lace a 

 siding for the accommodation of the farmer wherever any area of 

 land is under cultivation. The expense of re-organizing our present 

 methods would be great, but it is imperative that it should take place 

 if we are going to get the greatest value and the least waste in handlinsr 

 our wheat harvests. There is no reason why the farmers could not still 

 continue to bag their wheat on their harvesters or winnowers. The bags 

 could then be tied and transported to the nearest railway siding, and 

 wheat emptied out of the bags into properly constructed silos, where it 

 would be safe from rain, mice, and insect pests. There it could remain 

 perfectly safe until the railway authorities, with properly constructed 



