Seed Wheat. 



5 



by which is meant that I'l % of the sample was 

 composed of grains of the size shown in Fig. 4, 

 7 '6 % of the sample was composed of grains of 

 the size shown in Fig. 5, and so on down through 

 the seven grades. Thus, the series of seven figures 

 gives a kind of picture of the sample. Looking at 

 the first of the seven figures, we can see at once 

 what proportion of the grains are large ; looking 

 at the other end of the series, we can see at once 

 what proportion of the grains are small. 



The sample on being compared with first-class 

 samples of the same variety could be classed 

 as good, bad, or medium ; and it is needless to 

 say that this classification was the main object of 

 the examination. The results enable us to pass 

 judgment with some certainty on the quality of 

 the seed being used, and to discuss on a sounder 

 basis than heretofore the question whether we are 

 using seed as good as we ought to use, and, if 

 not, what amount of money farmers could afford 

 to expend in grading with a certainty of increas- 

 ing the profits of wheat-growing. 



In 1898, at the instance of the Hon. Sydney 

 Smith, the then Minister for Agriculture in this 

 State, the late Mr. Thompson collected data as to 

 the proportion of the various varieties of wheat 

 in actual use in the State. The record of his 

 results, which appears in the Annual Report of 

 this Department for 1899, shows that the 

 varieties then in favour were as follows, and in 

 the following order : First, Stein wedel, Purple 

 Straw, and Allora Spring ; second, White Lammas 

 and Australian Talavera. 



Mr. Thompson had unequalled opportunities 

 for collecting this information, travelling, as he 

 was, among the farmers in all parts of the State 

 as lecturer on agricultural subjects, and the infor- 

 mation should be very reliable. 



It is interesting to note that the samples 

 gathered for the purposes of the present inquiry 

 give as the favourite varieties the following, and 

 in the following order : Purple Straw, 52% ; 

 White Lammas, 27% ; Steinwedel, 14% ; Red 

 Wheat, 3% ; Golden Drop, 2% ; Blount's Lam- 

 brigg, 1% ; Velvet, 1%. 



From this it will be seen that, at the time of col- 

 lecting these samples, 93% of the wheat being sown 

 consisted of Purple Straw, Lammas, and Stein- 

 wedel, with a large preponderance of Purple Straw. 



Now the farmers must use these varieties either 

 because they prefer them or because they can get 

 no others, unless, indeed, they give the matter no 

 thought, and simply sow whatever comes handy. 

 I think we may unhesitatingly dismiss this latter 

 contingency from the discussion, as experience 

 shows that farmers have decided opinions, and are 

 no more likely than others to neglect to think 

 about the means they employ to make a living. 



Of the remaining two alternatives, namely, 

 whether they use these varieties because they 

 prefer them, or because they can get no others, 

 it seems to me we must choose the former. Other 

 sorts are available, and at prices within the reach 

 of all. If a farmer does not use some other 

 variety, it is not because he cannot get it, nor 

 because he cannot afford it. This seems to me 

 the inevitable conclusion. 



It seems equally clear that the farmers must 

 prefer these varieties because they consider them 

 to be the most profitable ones to grow. 



Fig. 11. An ear of 



Defiance wheat, 

 with the grains 

 arranged as ex- 

 tracted from one 

 side of the ear. 



