president's address — SECTION G (ii.). 235 



The average of the remaining 100 acres is IG.lbush. per acre. Last 

 year's average was 13.1bush. The following eight varieties are above 

 18.5bush., and the corresponding yields for last year are also shown. 



1906. 1905. 



Bushels. Bushels. 



Federation 23.9 .. 19.0 



Dart's Imperial 20.4 .. 18.3 



Australian Talavera 20.3 .. 15.7 



Jade '^0.1 .. 19.2 



Sussex 20.0 .. 17.4 



Silver King 19.8 .. 16.7 



Tarragon 19.7 .. 16.6 



\^Tiite Tuscan 18.7 .. 16.8 



" The fields showing the best average yield for all varieties are as 

 under : — 



Nixon Bros., Eddington 27.8 bushels per acre 



Nowatna, C, Jung 26.0 " 



Boyd, A., Minyip 2.H.8 



Hutchings, A., Lubeck 22 . 8 



Sproat, W., Donald 22.8 



Carter, J., Marong 18.7 " 



" The worst are those in the Goulburn Valley and North-Eastern 

 District, where the fields were so swamped with continuous rain during 

 the winter that one at Merrigum averaged only lO.Tbush. and one near 

 Wahgunyah 7.1 bush, per acre. The nine fields in the Mallee averaged 

 14bush., as against llbush. last year — an increase of 27 per cent." 



THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE. 



The future of agricultural practice in all parts of Australia must 

 depend for its success on the judicious combination of animal husbandry 

 with increased areas under cultivation. We have already seen the 

 fundamental principles which are involved in this combination, and 

 also the extent to which both are dependent on the proper use of the 

 available water supply. The details of the ways by which these objects 

 can best be attained vary in every district. It is the skilful use of his 

 opportunities that makes the successful farmer. But a number of 

 points are so important that they each require a few words. 



1. Irrigation. — The population of Australia is at present too 

 scanty to allow us to do an}i;hing more than play at irrigation, because 

 successful irrigation means small holdings and comparatively intense 

 culture. All irrigated land should carry the equivalent of one cow to 

 the acre, and to superintend this amount of production — whatever may 

 be the form it may take — means the utilisation of a far greater amount 

 of labor than is at present available in Australia. The area capable 

 of irrigation is so vast that it must always be one of the chief factors 

 in the agricultural development of Australia. It is estimated that the 

 Murray and its tributaries alone will supply water for 8,000,000 acres 

 of land. In addition, it may be said that in the regions where the 

 rainfall is above 30in. sufficient water now runs uselessly into the sea 

 from each square mile to irrigate another 40 acres. The success which 

 has already been achieved in different parts of Victoria by using this 



