Farm and Factory 147 



ence great enough to warrant the general state- 

 ment that the Australian wheat grower is at the 

 mercy of a very fickle climate. Sometimes there 

 is so little rain that the seed does not even germi- 

 nate, or having sprouted is parched or withered 

 without reaching maturity. As soon as the 

 winter rains have made the soil soft enough for 

 the plough, the ground is prepared and the seed 

 sown, and the crop is harvested at the end of 

 spring, that is, before Christmas time, at the very 

 latest. Agricultural machinery of all kinds is 

 extensively employed, and one harvesting imple- 

 ment frequently seen is the "stripper," which 

 plucks the ears from the crop, leaving the straw 

 standing. The ashes obtained by burning off the 

 straw are often the only fertilisers applied to 

 young ground. 



The supply of agricultural labourers varies 

 according to the season. In a good season, the 

 greatest difficulty is experienced in harvesting 

 the crops, owing to the scarcity of labour; but in 

 a bad year, hundreds of swagmeu may be found 

 walking from farm to farm in search of work. 

 These are not only men who are accustomed to 

 work for wages, for among them may be found 

 numbers of small selectors whose own crops have 

 failed, and who have bravely gone out upon the 

 track in the hope of earning a cheque, and so 

 helping to keep the little home together. The 

 agricultural labourer in steady employment earns 

 from fifteen shillings to a pound a week with 



