the entrance of the rust mycelium into their tissues, or its 

 subsequent growth and outburst. Of this class many 

 examples are known. 



Third Class. Rust-liable wheats, by which are meant 

 wheats which, under the usual conditions of growth, offer 

 no resistance to rust. Australian wheats now mostly belong 

 to this class. 



Fourth Class. Rust-escaping wheats, that is to say, 

 wheats which, like the third class, are rust-liable, but which 

 if sown at the proper time, ripen so early as to be ready for 

 harvest before the rust of an ordinary season can prevent a 

 paying crop. 



Of these two classes the most important are the second and 

 fourth. The characteristics of the second class, namely, the 

 rust-resistant wheats, have been found by a thorough and close 

 examination of 12 varieties to be as follows : The possession of 

 a thick or tough skin, so tough that though the mycelium may 

 enter the plant by means of the open stomata, yet it cannot 

 break through the skin in order to mature and shed its spores, 

 so that its further development is prevented. And, secondly, 

 the presence of waxy exudation on the surface of the plants 

 similar to the bloom of fruit ; this waxy covering, when 

 present about the mouth of the stomata, prevents the rust 

 mycelium from entering. Wheat-plants possessing tough skins, 

 and especially if possessing toughness of the skin in con- 

 junction with the waxy bloom, may be grown under all 

 conditions suitable to their normal growth without suffering 

 seriously from rust. On the other hand, rust-liable wheats, 

 which are characterized by the possession of a thin and tender 

 skin, and often by the absence of waxy bloom, can be 

 grown successfully during a rusty year only in one way, namely, 

 by sowing at such time as the plant shall be for only a short 

 time subject to the attacks of the rust- fungus. 



The principal measures recommended by the experts and 

 farmers assembled in conference in Australia for dealing with 

 rust are the growth of suitable varieties of wheat, and for 

 this they advised that an organized system should be established 

 for the maintenance or improvement of the qualities of 

 the best existing varieties, and for the production and distribu- 

 tion of new and improved varieties. For this a definite scheme 

 of an Intercolonial character was arranged to be established, by 

 means of which farmers, it is hoped, may hare distributed 

 among them, as occasion may require, rust-resistant and rust- 

 escaping wheats suited to their districts, whose qualities have 

 been proved by stringent tests. 



It was stated that at the Agricultural Show held in Adelaide in 

 June 1892 two very fine and complete collections of rust-resistant 

 wheat were exhibited, and prizes awarded. 



No absolutely rust-proof variety of wheat has yet been 

 discovered ; but experiments have proved that by importing 

 varieties, and carefully selecting and crossing them within the 



