WILLIAM J. FARRER. 13 



In the final report of the Rust-in- Wheat Conference, already quoted, the 

 attitude of the millers in this connection was discussed, and the following 

 passage gives the view arrived at by the Conference on this point : / 



"A prominent obstacle this Conference has met with has arisen from the 

 objection of millers to use resistant wheats, and the adoption of such varieties 

 has for that reason been retarded. . . . The opinion this Conference 

 has long held is that the opposition of millers to such wheats has no legitimate 

 foundation, but arises either from misconception or from conservatism. For 

 the reason given above [in this report] this opinion has become a conviction, 

 and this conviction the Conference wishes to make public in this report with 

 emphasis and without reservation." 



A factor which more than any other caused the millers to modify and 

 finally overcome their opposition to the harder wheats was the necessity they 

 were under in 1896 to import wheats in order to provide flour for home 

 consumption. This was necessitated by the shortage of locally produced 

 grain that season. 



The wheats they imported were for the most part from Duluth (Minnesota), 

 and were exactly of the type (Fife* wheats), which Farrer had so successfully 

 employed in his cross-breeding work. They had therefore, perforce, to 

 accustom themselves and their machinery to deal with hard strong- flour 

 wheats of the type which they had previously rejected, and as these wheats 

 were recognised as being amongst those most favoured by American and 

 English millers, our own millers were quick to realise the fact that Farrer's 

 new wheats not only gave better farmers' crops (being rust and bunt 

 resistant, drought resistant, and equally prolific or even better yielders than 

 the old varieties), but were in all cases superior milling wheats. 



PRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES. 



A few notes on some of the first varieties produced by Farrer may be of 

 interest. 



Bobs. This was the first commercially successful "Farrer" variety 

 produced.' It is a cross created in 1896 as the result of mating a sport from 

 Blount's Lambrigg (a wheat improved by Farrer by selection from a Blount's 

 wheat) with "Bald Skinless Barley" or "Nepaul Barley." The progeny was 

 fixed four years later (1900) and named " Bobs." There is some doubt as to 

 whether Bobs is a true hybrid or not. See note on Bobs in bibliogaphy at end. 



Yandilla. This was one of the earliest crosses made by Farrer between 

 the Fife wheats and Indian varieties, the object being to combine the milling 

 excellence and stiff straw of the Fifes with the properties of early ripening, 

 holding the grain in the ear firmly, and the shorter and less abundant straw 

 that are the characteristics of the Indian wheats. 



Yandilla was a cross between Improved Fife and Etawah (an Indian wheat). 



This variety is important by reason of its having been the parent of two of 

 our most extensively cultivated wheats Federation (a Farrer wheat), and 

 Yandilla King (produced by Mr. R. Marshall, of South Australia). 



Federation. This is the result of a cross between Purple Straw and 

 Yandilla with the object of improving the variety of wheat then most 

 popular by imparting to it the high milling excellence and other good qualities 

 of the Fife-Indian strains. Its full pedigree is therefore : 

 Improved Fife x Etawah 



Purple Straw x Yandilla 



Y 



Federation. 



53581 C 



