CEREALS 37 



Mention has just been made of the nature of the work 

 carried out at Rose worthy Agricultural College. This 

 institution deserves mention as being the first of its kind 

 in Australia, being opened in 1882. In addition to the 

 selection plots already described by the Principal, the 

 College encourages wheat cultivation by carrying out 

 experiments in improved methods of cultivation and in 

 the use of manures. 



Other departmental farms which are particularly 

 devoted to wheat are (besides Parafield) Kybobolite, 

 Loxton and Veitch's Well, and Turretfield. The 

 Agricultural Bureau system, which originated in South 

 Australia and has been introduced into New South Wales 

 and referred to above, has also been an important factor 

 in the improvement of wheat. The Bureau consists of 

 a central advisory body with branches in country districts 

 where meetings are held at regular intervals, papers read, 

 ideas exchanged, and discussions held. Officers of the 

 Department attend these meetings and discuss their 

 special lines of work with the farmers, and the system 

 provides an admirable opportunity for keeping farmers 

 in touch with the Department. 



(4) WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 



In this State until recent years the most prominent 

 wheat-breeder who sought to improve wheat by cross- 

 fertilization was Mr. G. F. Berthotid. He was also in 

 correspondence with Mr. Farrer, and in the earlier days 

 did a great deal of work in the selection of this investi- 

 gator's wheats and in acclimatizing them both in New 

 South Wales and in Western Australia. Mr. Berthoud, 

 after leaving New South Wales, started wheat experiment 

 plots at Hamel, in Western Australia, about fourteen 

 years ago, where he worked on the selection and cross- 

 breeding of wheats, both his own and Mr. Farrer's. The 

 outcome was the establishment of a State Experiment 

 Farm at Hamel under Mr. Berthoud's direction. 



The district was, however, found to be unsuitable for 

 successful wheat growing, the season being late and wet, 

 and Mr. Berthoud abandoned his experiments. 



