WHEAT IMPROVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA. 13 



Bobs was the first of Mr. Farrer's wheats to be cultivated on the commercial 

 scale. This is a true hybrid, being a cross between a strain of Blouiit's 

 Lambrigg and Nepaul or Bald Skinless Barley. It is a remarkably good 

 milling wheat, and Mr. A. E. Humphries, Past-President of the National 

 Association of British and Irish Millers, reported that Bobs flour was the 

 best Australian flour he had ever handled, and compared favourably with 

 Manitoba flour. Bobs is one of the " Strong-white " class, 



Comeback, another of the " Strong-white " class, is a Fife-Indian cross. 

 It is a superior milling wheat to Bobs, and such a milling authority as 

 Mr. M. Kahlbaum, Manager of the Adelaide Milling Company, Limited, has 

 stated that its flour is better than the best imported Manitoba. 



It is a rather peculiar fact that Comeback does not appear to thrive in 

 districts of very cold winters, thus disposing of the statement that used to 

 be made, and is still frequently met with, that the excessive cold of the 

 Canadian winters is the dominant factor in the production of the strong- 

 flour Canadian wheats. 



As a matter of fact, Comeback is particularly affected by frosts, and for 

 this reason must be sown fairly late. 



Both these varieties, though created specially for their strong-flour 

 characteristics, are fairly prolific. Bobs has given 40 bushels to the acre, 

 and both are good hay wheats. 



Cedar. This is the best of all the milling wheats created by Mr. Farrer, 

 and produces stronger flour than either Bobs or Comeback, and is a remark- 

 ably heavy wheat. 



This season samples have gone up to 67 Ib. per bushel. It is also 

 remarkably rich in gluten, averaging about 15i per cent, dry gluten. Like 

 Comeback, it is a Fife-Indian cross, but, unlike Comeback, it is a red 

 wheat, and if the name " Australian Strong-white " is to be adopted for 

 Bobs and Comeback and similar wheats, Cedar would be classed as 

 " Australian Strong-red." It has consistently taken the champion prize for 

 the last four or five years for the best bag of wheat exhibited at the Royal 

 Agricultural Society's Show in Sydney, and was the winner at the last 

 Melbourne Show. It has consistently beaten Manitoba grain in the " Hard 

 Red" class. 



Federation. Though not a strong-flour wheat, this wheat must be men- 

 tioned here because it was the first successful attempt to improve the flour 

 strength of the wheats grown in Australia at the time. These wheats were 

 very similar to the Californian wheats, and were characterised as plump, 

 starchy grain, yielding flour of low strength, and white in colour. This class 

 of grain is typified by Purple Straw, and Federation is a cross between 

 Purple Straw and a Fife-Indian cross called Yandilla by Mr. Farrer. 



It was created with the object of producing a variety with short, stiff 

 straw, suitable for the Australian method of harvesting with the stripper, and 

 at the same time of improving the flour strength of the grain. It is, as has 

 been already mentioned, the most popular grain wheat in Australia. It is 

 not a good hay wheat. 



