6 7 



is mostly first-class land. Close to ;i market and the railway, easily 

 cleared and cultivated, it is alone deficient in water supply. A 

 settler on the area says that the only way to get water is to camp 

 close to a large granite rock and to build a tank at its base ; but this 

 would leave stock without a supply and it is highly desirable for the 

 settler to keep sheep. It is expected that the ringbarking of the 

 land will provide water. It has done so in other parts of the colony, 

 but about two years have to elapse before the trees are all dead and 

 water makes its appearance. Meanwhile the buying of stock could 

 be deferred and reliance placed upon cultivation. The cost of 

 ringbarking is handsomely repaid by increasing the feeding capacity 

 of country and cheapening the cost of clearing. In the future the 

 scheme of carrying water to the Coolgardie goldfields, which has 

 received the sanction of Parliament, may assist the settlers en route. 



" There is an excellent indicator," writes the special correspon- 

 dent whom we have previously quoted in this chapter, " of the class 

 of soil through which the Yilgarn railway passes, and that is the 

 side of the permanent way. Thousands of bags of wheat, oats, and 

 barley are yearly transported by the railway to the goldfields. The 

 oscillation of the train shakes a small proportion of the seeds on to 

 the railway line. This is well worked by the permanent way men 

 and so 'becomes a perfect bed. The seed is in position for the first 

 rains and has all those conditions that I referred to at the commence- 

 ment of this article for the successful growth of cereals. It thus 

 becomes instructive to watch the various portions of the railway 

 line to see how the plants thrive. ... All along the railway line 

 right to past Merriden the wheat seeds stooled out into 

 beautiful plants, on which ripened many ears of fine corn. 

 Many experienced farmers have been struck by this circum- 

 stance, and have all said that what could be done on the 

 railway line could be done elsewhere in the same locality in the 

 same soil ; and when men of experience and judgment say these 

 things, it is very evident, that, given a good water supply, our 

 eastern forest lands will be to this colony what the mallee lands 

 have become to Victoria and South Australia. It may here be 

 remarked that it has only been by the cultivation of their dry areas, 

 as wheat fields, that these two colonies have been able to supply 

 the needs of their own population. Take away the mallee country 

 from Victoria, and the northern area from South Australia, and 

 these colonies at once drop from wheat-exporting colonies to 

 wheat-importing colonies. For this reason I have placed so much 

 stress on the forest land of our eastern districts. Our great want 

 as a nation is to produce our own breadstuffs. I believe that the 

 cultivation of these forests will settle the problem." 



It is related that in one paddock in the district under notice a 

 thunderstorm in January germinated some wheat that had fallen to 

 the ground while reaping was going on, and the plants grew 

 vigorously, in spite of the time being midsummer, until the autumn 



