WILLIAM J. FARRER. ii 



Farrer himself, in subsequent publications, stated that the idea of system- 

 atic crossing for rust-resistance was first suggested to him in the course of a 

 controversy on this subject between himself and the Australasian newspaper 

 in 1882, the Australasian having maintained that such a course was not 

 practicable. Newspaper or epistolary controversy was always one of Farrer J s 

 strong points, and he delighted in literary conflicts, in which his clear and 

 ordered brain and ready pen made him a redoubtable opponent. 



He commenced, as we have seen, experimental work on his farm at Lam- 

 brigg in 1886. 



His first attempts at cross-breeding were made in 1889. Of these first 

 crosses only one was successful, and this proved subsequently to be useless. 



The area of the plots at Lambrigg, Queanbeyan, on which these investiga- 

 tions were carried out was under three acres, of which the two halves were 

 made use of in alternate years. A fairly detailed account of his methods 

 of work was given by him in his report to the Fourth Rust-in- Wheat 

 Conference, 1894. 



The first variety which he improved by selection was one of Blount's 

 creations. To this improved wheat he gave the name of Blount's Lambrigg, 

 a variety which he used freely in crossing. Though the original Blount's 

 Lambrigg was never extensively cultivated, some of the varieties of which it 

 was one of the parents have established themselves in popular favour. 

 Wheats such as Bobs, Bunyip, Cleveland, and Firbank, all contain Blount's 

 Lambrigg blood. 



His first few years of investigation showed him that rust-resistance was a 

 variable quality, and could be increased by breeding. He now directed his 

 attention more particularly to increasing the gluten-content of his wheats, 

 which characteristic was at that time generally regarded as the factor upon 

 which depended the " strength " or baking quality of a flour. 



In 1891 he wrote to the Department of Agriculture, New South Wales, 

 asking for their assistance in examining the different wheats for their gluten- 

 content, with the view of selecting such varieties as were richest in gluten 

 for parents in cross-breeding. 



An abstract of this letter was published in the Agricultural Gazette of New 

 South Wales, Vol. 2, page 452. This assistance was promised and given, 

 arid from that time until his death he was in constant touch with the 

 scientific officers of the Department, which he joined in the official capacity 

 of Wheat Experimentalist in 1898. 



From this time also Farrer devoted' particular attention to the question of 

 the milling value of his new varieties, rightly regarding milling excellence as 

 a sine qua non of any wheat intended for grain production. 



There was, however, unfortunately no means available for testing the 

 milling quality of such small parcels (not more than a few ounces) of 

 newly fixed cross-breeds. It was obviously quite impossible for a mill of 

 any capacity to deal with such samples, and the millers were naturally 

 reluctant to stop the operation of their mills in order to grind even larger 

 parcels of new varieties of which they had no previous experience, and 

 whose treatment would probably involve considerable alteration in their 

 existing methods and even additions to the machinery. 



At the time of the Rust-in-Wheat Conference the millers preferred therefore 

 to deal with the type of grain then in general cultivation (soft white wheats 

 of the Purple Straw or Steinwedel type), with whose behaviour in the 



