TRK GARDEN AND FIELD. 



April, 1914 



Wheat and its Cultivation. 



A. E. V. Richardson, M.A., B.Sc. 

 (.\gric.), Agricultural Superinten- 

 dent, Victoria. 



The following extracts from a 

 series of articles from the pen of 

 Mr. A. E. V. Richardson, in the 

 Victorian Journal of Agriculture, 

 will, we know, be read with in- 

 terest bv manv who ren^ember the 

 good work done by Mr. Richard- 

 son when a member of the South 

 Australian Agricultural Depart- 

 ment Staff. 



Ever since the dawn of history 

 civilised man has used wheat as a 

 staple article of diet ; and, in cosn- 

 petition with foods of other races, 

 it is displacing rice, millet, and 

 other grains to such an extent 

 that its production has become 

 one of the most fimdamental 

 problems of the time. No prob- 

 lems in the realm of agricidture 

 should be of greater moment than 

 those relating to the production 

 and distribution of our daily bread. 

 Particularly is this true with re- 

 spect to Australia, for the pros- 

 itv of her finances are in a very 

 peritv of her people and the stabil- 

 large measure dependent on the 

 success of her wheat harv'ests. 



It is estimated that the world's 

 average annual production of 

 wheat for the past five years has 

 been .^,150 million bushels. Of 

 this vast auantity Australia has 

 onlv contributed about 2 per cent. 

 Although the wheat industry of 

 the Commonwealth has made en- 

 ormous Rropress during the past 

 decade, it will be many years be- 

 fore Australian production will ex- 

 ert any appreciable influence on the 

 !)rice of wheat in the great mar- 

 kets of the world. 



— Importance of the Wheat 

 Industry. — 



Some idea of the importance of 

 the wheat industry to Australia 

 may be gained from a perusal of 

 the latest figures of the Common- 



wealth Stati.stician. Of the total 

 acres, 60 per cent, of the total 

 were reaped for wheat, whilst 

 in 1-909-10, nam.ely, 10,972, 299 

 acres were reaped for wheat, or 60 

 per cent, of the total, whilst 

 2,228,029 acres, or 20 per cent, of 

 the total, were cut for ha}', the 

 greater portion being wheaten 

 hay ; that is, probablj- 175 per cent, 

 of the total area under cultivation 

 to all crops was placed under 

 wheat in 1909-10. 



The man in the street naturally 

 seeks some explanation of the ex- 

 extraordinary popularity of this 

 .single cereal, and imder the exist- 

 ing economic conditions convincing 

 reasons are readily forthcoming. 

 AVheat isian excellent pioneer crop, 

 and it lends itself admirably to the 

 extensive system of farming com- 

 mon to all comparatively new 

 countries, where, compared with 

 densely-populated countries, land is 

 cheap, and individual holdings con- 

 siderable, high-class farming is 

 rarely practised, and the object of 

 the cultivator is rather to secure 

 a small average return from an 

 extensive acreage, than a large 

 average return ifrom a small area. 

 With our multiple-furrow plough, 

 20-tine cultivators, and 4-horse 

 drills, larg-e areas can be cultivat- 

 ed with the minimum of hand la- 

 bour, and the complete harvesters 

 enable the^ erain to be taken of! 

 with the greatest facility. Wi*^l' 

 the increase, of population, and the 

 inevitable increase in land values 

 ahead of us, this system of farm- 

 ing, particularly in Victoria, will 

 graduallv be modified, and a new 

 era will be ushered in, character- 

 ised bv smaller areas under indi- 

 vidual cultivation and higher aver- 

 a-ps ner acre. 



Under existing conditions of cul- 

 tivation, it does not require the 

 exercise of much skill, or of a 

 great deal of labour, to secure a 

 payable crop of wheat, though it 

 does require thfe very highest skill, 

 ability, and intelHgrnce to secure 

 the maximum crop the soil and 

 season will allow. 



As long as the wave of expan- 

 sion in Russia, Canada, Argentine, 

 and .\ustralia, enormous supplies 

 will be raised for many years to 

 come under pioneer conditions — un- 

 der conditions of extensive farming 

 — and it is owing to the capacity 

 of these countries during the last 

 generation for raising cheap wheat 

 that wheat is being displaced from 

 its jwsition in the rotation sys- 

 tem of highly-farmed and densely- 

 populated countries. 



An additional 'reason for its 

 popularity lies in the fact that for 

 wheat there is always a ready 

 market, and that, unlike many 

 agricultural products, it does not 

 suffer by storage or transporta- 

 tion over long distances. More- 

 over, it is a. most reliable crop, 

 especially when treated in a ra- 

 tional manner, and, being more re- 

 sistant to drought than any of the 

 other cereals, it is more likely to 

 succeed under arid Australian con- 

 ditions than other crops. 



Finally, during the last decade, 

 prices have been most satisfactory, 

 and the standard of efficiency in 

 wheat cultivation has been consid- 

 erably raised by the recognition of 

 the value of fallowing, iudicious 

 crop rotation, rational soil cultiva- 

 tion, and systematic manuring. 

 The wheat farmer has, therefore, 

 greater confidence in the future, 

 for he feels that he knows more of 

 the essentials for successful crop- 

 ping than he did a decade ago. 



In subsequent articles, some of 

 the more important phases of the 

 wheat industry will be discussed, 

 including problems relating to the 

 cultivation and manunal require- 

 ments of the crop, seeding and 

 harvesting operations, crop rota- 

 tion, wheat improvement, and ex- 

 perimental and research work. 



Although the number of varieties 

 of wheat in the difierent wheat- 

 growinsT countries of the world 

 runs into thousands, all these vari- 

 eties are included in the one genus 

 — Triticum. It is g'enerally ad- 

 mitted that there are eight general 



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