DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF SEED-WHEATS. 9 



having the finest ears ; these I made to be put in sheaves 

 (at least with scissors) until I had a hectolitre of grains, a 

 very useful and easy operation, since the colour and form 

 of this kind of wheat makes it different from all others. 

 Mr. Van Alsteyn, member of council for our Society, praises 

 his Australian wheat as much, seed got also by the in- 

 tervention of the Society, and for which he has been first 

 at Brussels. The grain seems really to have precious 

 qualities, but differs much from mine, as much in ears as 

 in grain and straw. Perhaps it comes from another part 

 of Australia ; some one told me that mine came from the 

 neighbourhood of Sydney. Although it has been so, up 

 to this year I have always sowed my ground with this kind 

 of wheat, but I have never observed wastes occur by cold 

 before snow and winter were over. Sown by means of 

 the corn-drill of Hornsby, in October of the last year, at 

 22 centimetres apart, it grew very well, passed the first 

 part of the winter and the frost at the season without 

 hindrance, so that, after the frost, I did not perceive 

 any waste. But some days following it was cold again 

 (without snow), which was the cause of the greatest dis- 

 aster. The greater part of the plants gave way in March, 

 as they were very incapable of resisting longer. Con- 

 fident in the vegetative faculties which this kind possesses 

 to the greatest degree, some cultivators allowed the crop 

 to take its chance ; others decided to destroy the remain- 

 ing part, or to replace it by barley in spring, or, later, 

 by oats or pease. It happened thus that the greatest 

 part of sown ground with Australian wheat was ploughed 

 and rendered capable of producing other grains. As for 

 myself, I resolved to sacrifice everything, but having alone a 

 third of my land I put in pease, recalling the experiments 

 that I had made last year with different kinds of wheat, bar- 

 ley, rye, &c., and particularly with the wheat from Halett, 

 planted grain by grain in the ground, according to the pre- 

 scription indicated, experiments of which I have given a 

 description in the Landbow Courant, or Vylad of this 

 year ; the fields sown with Australian wheat, although the 



