WHEAT CDLTURE. 231 



The foregoing refers to country carrying grey box, yellow box, stringy- 

 bark, pine, bull-oak, belah, buddah, and apple-tree. It in do way refers to 

 tree or wbipstick mallee, in which country the method of clearing i- entirely 

 different, though the stump-jump plough is invariably used. 



If, on the other hand, a paddock is not immediately required for culti- 

 vation, and sufficient labour is available to dear it thoroughly, that is, to 



take out the stumps to a depth of 6 to '.» inches, this method has much to 

 commend it, as it leaves the paddock clear of all stumps for all time, and 

 any kind of plough can be employed in future operations. The methods by 

 which land is cleared for cultivation are more fully dealt with in another 

 portion of this Handbook under the section heading " The Farm Holding," 

 The fanner may safely make it his motto to clear as thoroughly as possible. 

 Well cleared land saves many a. breakage. 



Providing the timber is well dead and the ground dry, stumps that are 



tired will burn themselves out to a depth of several inches, in fact, in pine 

 and buddah country Yankee-igrubbing may then prove as thorough as grub- 

 bing out, for the tire does its work well and does not go out until it is done. 

 The stump-jump plough will then pull out most of the running roots, which 

 can he carted off and burned inexpensively. 



CULTIVATION METHODS. 



The determining factor in the cultivation of wheat in New South Wales 

 is the rainfall; not so much the annual rainfall as the amount which falls 

 during the growing period of the crop. 



To produce a crop of 15 bushels per acre, 4^ inches of water are required 

 to pass through the crop*; for every additional 5 bushels, 1£ inches are 

 required, so that 6 inches of rain must actually pass through a crop in order 

 to produce 20 bushels. This by no means signifies that only 6 inches of rain 

 must fall during the growing period, because out of an actual fall of 6 inches 

 during six months, 3 inches or more may be lost through evaporation or 

 other causes. 



The exact amount of rain that is actually needed during the growing 

 period of the crop in order to allow 6 inches to pass through the tissues of the 

 plant is hard to estimate, for much depends upon whether the rain has been 

 distributed over few or many days, the condition of the soil, the temperature, 

 the amount and velocity of prevailing winds, and many other factors; it is 

 sufficient to say that the rainfall during the growing season in most of our 

 wheat districts is not sufficiently large to allow 6 inches, or even 4£ inches, 

 of moisture to pass through the crop during the growing period. 



The first impression produced by such a statement is, perhaps, surprise 

 that wheat-growing should have become such an extensive industry as it has. 

 In consequence, however, of the low cost of production in Australia, and of 

 the undoubted fertility of the soil in large areas of the wheat belt, it is 

 possible to raise crop- averaging in to \-j bushels per acre that certainly do 

 still leave a margin of profit. Economical methods, such as those referred 

 to, are necessarily adopted by new settlers, and are usually profitable on 



* The late Prof. King, Wisconsin. 



