24: SCIENCE BULLETIN, No. 22. 



CONCLUSION. 



It will be seen from the foregoing that Farrer, in the particular line which 

 he chose for himself, was a pioneer who is entitled to our gratitude to as 

 great an extent as those pioneers of our other primary industries who have 

 put wool-production, cattle and horse breeding, dairying, meat exportation, 

 wine-production, and other national industries on a firm basis, possessing 

 possibilities of unlimited expansion in the future. 



He never obtained, nor did he ever seek, the slightest monetary advantage 

 from his labours. The fruit of his brain was given freely and generously to 

 all. The single object which 'actuated him during the twenty years he 

 devoted himself to this work was the benefiting of the wheat-grower. With 

 this object he set himself the task of creating improved varieties which 

 should ensure a certain and profitable return, varieties whose cultivation 

 would extend the area at present under crop, and which should be dis- 

 tinguished by their increased commercial value. He was successful beyond 

 expectations in all these directions. Previous wheat-breeders had succeeded 

 in producing a few varieties of outstanding excellence in some particular 

 characteristic. Farrer produced scores of varieties of the most varied 

 characteristics, from which the wheat-grower could select with confidence 

 one or more pre-eminently suited to his climatic conditions, or to the objects 

 for which he grew them. 



This success was rendered possible by the peculiar equipment of Farrer's 

 genius, his scientifically methodical brain, his untiring energy, his minute 

 and conscientious attention to detail, and above all his unselfish singleness 

 of purpose and the lofty ideals which he set before himself. 



It would be a thousand pities if we allowed the memory of this great 

 Australian to perish for want of proper recognition. 



Is it true that his monument is set up in nearly every ripening field of 

 wheat in this and the other States, but it must be anticipated that though 

 Farrer wheats are now at the height of their popularity they will no doubt 

 be replaced in general favour by varieties which will be produced in the 

 future, largely as the result of his own labours. 



The idea of commemorating Farrer's work and continuing it along the 

 lines of which he was the pioneer was in the minds of those who first insti- 

 tuted the Farrer Memorial Fund. The response was rather disappointing, 

 and it has only been by the exercise of the greatest economy that the trustees 

 have been able to do what they have done without encroaching on the capital 

 of the fund. 



It is too much to hope that there exists a sufficiently high appreciation of 

 Farrer's work, a sufficient sense of gratitude for his achievement, to bring 

 about an increase to the fund, so that instead of its being only possible to 

 assist in the training of one or two Farrer scholars in the course of several 

 years, the trustees may be in a position to award the scholarship annually 

 and to have more than one Farrer scholar completing his training at the 

 same time 1 



Subscribers may be confident that the fund will always be utilised in 

 furthering the ideals which inspired Farrer, and in a manner which would 

 have been approved of by him were he alive. 



I should like to thank (in addition to those who have contributed to the 

 foregoing and whose names appear in it) Mr. J. T. Pridham, Farrer's suc- 

 sessor, and Mr. G. W. Norris, who was at one time Farrer's assistant, for 

 their friendly help. 



