WHEAT CULTURE. 'M)?> 



and made to travel faster or slower to meet varying conditions. A second 

 drum, or really a cavings thresher, is placed at tne rear oJ the machine 

 to re thresh any broken beads which may have escaped the firsl threshing. 



By means ot straw walkers the straw is taken from the threshing drum 

 ami thrown out at the side of the machine at the rear of the grain wheel. 

 The grain falls on to a graded pan situated beneath the walkers, where it 

 feeds evenly on to the riddles, and is winnowed. The grain is then carried 

 by means of elevators up into the grain box, which has a capacity of live 

 bags. 



The machine takes an S-feet cut, and with two average teams of, say, five 

 horses each, in a fair crop, from 15 to 20 acres may be harvested in a day. 

 There is very little waste of grain as compared with some other harvesters,, 

 and the lightness of draught, and its power to deal with a weedy crop, make 

 it a most valuable addition to the wheat-grower's plant. 



Another Type of Reaper-Thresher. 



MILLING VALUES OF WHEATS.* 



In the following table are given the average bushel-weights, Hour-yield,, 

 and flour-strength of the different varieties of wheat recommended for cul- 

 , tivation by the Department. By the term flour-strength should be under- 

 stood the amount of water, in quarts, required by the 200-lb. sack of flour 

 to make a dough of the proper consistency for baking. The figures, there- 

 fore, give actually the water-absorbing power of the flour, which is the most 

 ready and reliable means of determining what is understood by the baker 

 under the term " flour-strength." The classification is that adopted in the 

 entries competing for prizes at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show, and 

 includes the four principal classes under which wheat are entered for compe- 

 tition. The " Australian Strong White " class comprise several of Mr. 

 Farrer's crosses made with the specific object of providing a hard, strong- 

 flour, white grain, as distinguished from the ordinary hard wheats, which 

 are usually red in colour. 



It is to the introduction of this class that the greatly improved milling 

 quality of local wheat is due. Australian, and particularly New South 

 Wales wheat, now enjoys a high reputation for milling excellence oni 



• F. B. Guthrie and G. W. Norris. 



