538 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G2. 



has never looked back. Its progress has been a triumphant march, 

 until now it is king throughout the whole of the district. A fair 

 estimate of the area sown with " Federation " on " landra " 

 to-day is 15,000 acres. 



Another instance in the same district is worth recording. 

 Two years after its introduction on " landra " an adjoining station, 

 " Brundah " had 3,000 acres planted with " Federation." The 

 average yield per acre from this area was 22 bushels. From the 

 total area 13,040 bags (the old size of 4 bushels) were sold, the 

 remainder being kept for seed the following year. It is probable 

 that in New South Wales this was then the largest area planted 

 with any one variety. It is also probable that the yield obtained 

 was the largest average for a big area in the State. 



It is significan that the winning varieties of " growing crop " 

 competitions are invariably " Federation." This year in the 

 Cowra district the competing crops, each of not less than 30 acres, 

 were all " Federation." The average yields per acre of the three 

 winning crops were respectively 41 bushels, 40 bushels and 29 

 bushels. 



In Victoria " Federation " is also held in high esteem by 

 farmers. 



How important a factor this variety is to the wheat production 

 of that State may be gathered from a statement of Dr. Cherry, the 

 Victorian Director of Agriculture. Writing at the end of 1909 he 

 stated : " The question of whether the present wheat harvest will 

 realise the official forecast of 25,000,000 bushels depends to a large 

 extent on the way that one variety of wheat, namely, ' Federation,' 

 may have stood the test of an unfavourable winter's growth. . . . 

 Up to the present the returns are all in its favour. Returns of 20 

 bushels in the Mallee and up to 35 bushels in the best parts of the 



Wimmera are being recorded So rapid has been the 



advance of the new variety (introduced to Victoria in 1904 — G.L.S.) 

 that probably one-fourth (l) of all the wheat in Victoria this year 

 is of the ' Federation ' variety. As the yield is at least 3 or 4 bushels 

 to the acre above that of all other varieties, the benefit during the 

 year from the work of the late Mr. Farrer may be estimated at 

 1,500,000 bushels of wheat, representing a cash value to the farmer 

 of £250,000." 



In South Australia the success of " Federation " has been no 

 less remarkable. The President of our Section (W. Angus, Esq., 

 B.Sc). when Director of the South Australian Department of 

 Agriculture, wrote : — " We are indebted to the work of the late Mr. 

 Farrer, of New South Wales, for the best all round variety of wheat 

 now grown — one which is peculiarly suited to South Australian 

 conditions, viz., ' Federation.' 



" ' Federation ' is a grain producing variety, not a hay wheat, 

 and there is probably no other variety to equal it in this respect. 

 Not onl is it a very high yielder, but it has the power of adapting 

 itself to the different conditions of climate and soil, a most important 

 factor in a country like Australia. In the hot, dry north, in the 



