PREFATORY NOTE. 



THE following paper by Mr. W. L. Waterhouse, the first Farrer research scholar, 

 deserves a few words of introduction, explanatory of the genesis and objects of the fund 

 under whose auspices it is published. The Farrer Memorial Fund was subscribed as a 

 result of an appeal to the public, and particularly to those in any way interested in the 

 wheat industry, to perpetuate the memory of the late William J. Farrer, whose success 

 in the production of new varieties of wheat has increased enormously, not only the 

 possibilities of production, but also the commercial value of Australian grain. The 

 committee of the memorial fund, after considering several suggestions, agreed that the 

 memory of this indefatigable worker could best be honoured by encouraging likely 

 investigators to continue the work with which Farrer's name will always be associated 

 the improvement of wheat. It was therefore decided that the interest on the money 

 subscribed should provide for the endowment of a scholarship, to be known as the 

 " Farrer Research Scholarship," to be awarded to the applicant most likely to 

 contribute towards the object aimed at, either by original work in the field, or in the 

 laboratory, or in the mill or-'bakehouss, or by a combination of any of these. 



With this object a board of five trustees was appointed in October, 1911, to include 

 as ex-efficio members the Under-Secretary for Agriculture and the Principal of the 

 Hawkesbury College, in order to administer the fund. The amount then at the disposal 

 of the trustees was 1,030. To this sum the Government has generously added 50 

 annually. 



Applications were invited early in 1912, and as a result, Mr. W. L. Waterhouse, a 

 student passing through his course in agriculture at the University, was awarded the 

 scholarship for that year. It was understood that Mr. Waterhouse would not be able to 

 devote the whole of his time to the investigation ; but as Professor Watt (Professor of 

 Agriculture at the University) had kindly promised to direct and supervise his work, it 

 was thought that a satisfactory commencement could be made and the subscribers to the 

 fund assured that their desires were being realised as well as was possible under the 

 circumstances. 



Mr. Waterhouse's paper is, it will be admitted, of considerable value in elucidating the 

 question of the nature of soils suitable for wheat culture and their proper manuring. It 

 is a practical, well- \vorked-out thesis, and a distinct contribution towards the subject of 

 improvement in wheat production. 



With regard to present and future operations, the trustees take this opportunity of 

 explaining the present position of affairs. 



Applications were again invited early in the present year (1913), and again the only 

 suitable candidates were unable to devote more than a portion of their time to 

 investigation. 



As the trustees only disposed of a part of the sum available in 1912, and they are now 

 in a position to offer a larger sum, it was felt that it would be better to withhold the 

 scholarship for the present, and to invite applications again next year, when they will be 

 able to offer a sufficiently substantial amount to recompense the recipient for devoting 

 all his time to the work. 



They are even h ipeful that it may be possible to offer a student the opportunity of 

 pursuing his studies at some institution abroad for a year or two, where he could study 

 the most recent scientific developments in this special line of research. 



In conclusion, the trustees venture to remind readers of this thesis that the fund is 

 still open to receive contributions, and that the sum so far subscribed represents in a 

 very inadequate manner the value of Farrer's work. Those, therefore, who have benefited 

 by the results of his unselfish labours, or who desire to perpetuate his memory in such a 

 way as to benefit the community, can still do so by forwarding a subscription, however 

 small, to the Secretary of the Farrer Memorial Fund, Department of Agriculture, 

 Sydney. 



H. C. L. ANDERSON," 



H W POTTS 



G.' W.' WALKER, Trustees of the 



F. B. GUTHRIE, 

 HENRY LORD, 



Farrer Memorial Fund, 



