president's address — SECTION G2. 519 



and taken up in semi-arid areas. The Mallee country in Victoria 

 and South AustraUa, opened up for wheat-growing, comes under 

 this heading — areas with a rainfall of 10 to 16 inches. A good deal 

 loo, of the south-western and western tracts of country in New 

 South Wales and the north and western districts of Western Aus- 

 tralia are classified under what we might call " low rainfall areas " — 

 lands that are gradually being opened up for wheat-growing. While 

 this expansion of our wheat areas has been taking place, attention 

 has been directed to the work being done in America. There this 

 question has been taken up with great enthusiasm, not only by the 

 scientists, but also by the intelligent practical farmer, and most 

 valuable work is being reported by these every year at their Great 

 Dry- Farming Congress. Now, if the Australian farmer can grow 

 wheat profitably in, say another 2,000,000 acres of land in each 

 ■of the four wheat-growing States, then this is a matter which ought 

 to be taken up without delay, and with some of the spirit and in 

 the business-like manner that practical men and scientists are doing 

 in America. If, on the other hand, even with special methods of 

 soil treatment and specially selected strains of wheat, this class of 

 country is unsafe and unsuitable for profitable wheat production, 

 then it is as clearly necessary to obtain definite and reliable informa- 

 tion concerning it in order that men may be prevented from taking 

 up for wheat-growing a class of country unsuitable for such. There 

 ■cannot be a doubt as to the fact that a large number of people are 

 taking up this country, believing that by special methods of soil 

 treatment it can be worked profitably. Although this subject has 

 been very prominently brought under public notice by Senator 

 McColl and by the able report of the Surveyor- General of South 

 Australia, yet very little work of a useful nature has been done here. 

 What has been undertaken in South Australia would point to the 

 fact that by the adoption of special means of conserving soil mois- 

 ture, largely increased crops can be obtained. But what is really 

 needed is the careful extension of these experiments throughout 

 the whole of the dry areas of Australia and the putting of the trial 

 work in the hands of trained men who are qualified to correctly 

 gather and record full information as to the condition of the soils, 

 the nature of the treatment given, the effect of such on the moisture 

 content of the soil, the rainfall and especially its incidence, the 

 nature of the sub-soils, the varieties best suited to such areas, the 

 quantities of manures that can be safely and economically used, 

 and so on. The South Australian Government has set aside an 

 area of 4000 acres of scrub country in the Mallee district, with an 

 average raiinfall of 11 to 12 inches, for the trial of this system of soil 

 treatment, and part of this has been under crop for two seas ns. 

 The land had first to be made fit for carrying on work of this kind, 

 and there is nowsomewhere about 1000 acres of it c'eared. I feel 

 •sure the Government and the Department of Agriculture in that 

 State would willingly allow of this being used as a centre from 

 which to carry on further investigation. If we could arrange for 

 members of the section in Western Australia, Victoria, and New 



