CEREALS I I 



wheat I have brought back from gardens along that river 

 stood 4 ft. high, grown without irrigation. Sown on 

 carefully prepared fallow, it should in a fair season yield 

 a heavy crop of grain. The problem of extending our 

 wheat fields as far as the Gascoyne is one deserving 

 serious attention. I entertain no doubt whatever that 

 the prospect is a sound one, as far at least as Hamelin 

 Pool and Sharks Bay, provided wheat growing is com- 

 bined with sheep grazing. In a bad season the sheep 

 could be turned into the failing crops, while, on the other 

 hand, in unfavourable years yields as good as, if not 

 superior to, those obtained in the most favoured localities 

 of our wheat areas would be secured." I ought to point 

 out that the Gascoyne is almost but not quite in the 

 tropics. 



There is an " immense area of rich land " situated in 

 these drier zones, and the discovery or production by 

 hybridizing of varieties of wheat which will thrive on a 

 very small rainfall would enormously increase the output 

 of Western Australian wheat, and very appreciably 

 increase the quantity available for the importing coun- 

 tries. 



INDIA. 



Most valuable literature has been published concerning 

 the production of wheat in India, therefore I need only 

 deal with the more recent work accomplished in that 

 country, and emphasize a few points which are in my 

 opinion specially important. 



Wheat growing appears to be one of India's ancient 

 industries, and the indigenous varieties have character- 

 istics specially their own. In most countries wheat is 

 matured and harvested in a period of decreasing tem- 

 perature; in India those stages are passed in a time of 

 rapidly increasing temperatures, and most varieties of 

 great repute and value elsewhere are useless there. 

 Should wheat grow slowly and the stage of grain forma- 

 tion be two or three weeks late, the plant will probably 

 shrivel and be fruitless. For instance, Canadian Red 

 Fife, which grows rapidly in England and Canada, is 

 useless to Indian farmers, because it does not grow 

 rapidly enough there. 



