April. 1914 > 



THF GARDEN AND FIET-D. 



tvpcs in cultivation, with diffor- 

 iiices sufTiciiMith' preat to enable 

 thcin to rank as soiiorato species or 

 snl)-species5. Ilackcl, however, re- 

 i(>L'"nises but throe true spciies, 

 and classifies the remainder as sub- 

 species. 



Now, thoutrh many of these 

 siiecies are likely to be of very 

 little value to the Australian far. 

 iner, they arc of the hisrhest inter- 

 est to the breeder of wheat suit- 

 able for our local conditions. By 

 the crossbrcedinsr of some of these 

 species with those wheats in {gene- 

 ral cultivation in Australia, some 

 very desirable characteristics, cs^., 

 drouirht resistance, non-shatterino; 

 of irrain, rust resistance, and early 

 maturity, may deliberately be im- 

 parted to our local varieties. 



After briefly describing the bo- 

 tanical and structural peculiarities 

 of the crreat family to which wheat 

 belonsfs, IMr. Richardson referred 

 to the eig^ht known types. 



(i) Rinkorn. {2) Spelt, and (3) 

 Emmer. — Of these different types, 

 the first three (Rinkorn, Spelt, and 

 Kmmer") are to be foimd on most 

 wheat-oreedinsr stations, and are 

 freanentlv of service in impartinjij 

 such] properties as hardiness, 

 drought resistance, ability to hold 

 the grain, and capacity for thriv- 

 ing- on poor soil. They liave all 

 been cultivated from the very earli- 

 est times, but their cultivation is 

 now chiefly confined to portions of 

 Germany, Snain, Italy, and Rus- 

 sia. Both for {ora^e and for food 

 purposes, however, they are gradu- 

 ally being- displaced, even m those 

 conntries by varieties of Triticum 

 sati\ii-m vulgare — common bread 

 wheat. 



(4) Club or square-head wheat 

 differs from common wheat, prin- 

 cipally in its short stiff straw and 

 short but compact head. Its yield 

 is imsatisfactorv, however, and it 

 is yer\- susceptible to rust. 



(s") Poulirrd wheat is }!;rown prin- 

 cipally in the hot, dry areas bor- 

 derine; the Mediterranean. It very 

 closely resembles the durum or 

 macaroni wheats in the appear- 

 ance and characteristics of the 

 jjrain. I*Tiivi)tian, and the so-called 

 compound heads, belong to this 

 sub-species. 



(6) Polish wheat (T. Polonicum) 

 has not done well in experimental 

 plots under Australian conditions, 

 though it IS successfully cultivated 

 in the drier portions of southern 

 Rurope. The grains of this wheat 

 are very long and sotnewhat re- 

 semble rye. 



(7) Sativum vnlgare — common 

 bread wheat— is the most widely 

 cultivated of all the species, and it 

 enjoys this popularity on account 

 of its high yielding power, and be- 

 cause it makes such excellent 

 bread. The greater majority of 

 the varieties of wheat grown in 

 Australia belong to tliis important 

 sub-species. 



The future of the Australian 

 wheat industry is largely dependent 

 on the profitable utilsation of 

 those vast areas at present con- 

 .sidered outside the margin of 

 " safe " farming. 



From the remarkable develop- 

 ments that have resulted during 

 the last decade in the profitable 

 openin<r up of lands that hitherto 

 were considered practically useless, 

 it is nuite apparent that it is not 

 safe for any one to predict the 

 possible confines of profitable 

 wheat-farmine in the future. To 

 further extend the zone of profit- 

 able cultivation, it is evident that 

 attention must be concentratefd on 

 those factors which will enable the 

 grower of the future to raise W'hieati 

 successfully on the more arid por- 

 tions of the Commonwealth. 



In the past, efforts have been 

 mainly directed to the (juestion of 

 cultivation and the demising of me- 

 thods to secure the maximum con- 

 servation of soil moisture. While 

 rreat iinprosements have been ef- 

 fected in the system of cultivation 

 and maiiurintr during the last de- 

 cade, are we to assume that fur- 

 ther advance with respect to these 

 ])ractices is impossi1)lc ? 



There is, however, another im- 

 portant factor to be considered, 

 but this is frequently ignored in 

 discussions relating to the tiltimate 

 utilisation of our arid areas, viz., 

 the inflxience of the plant. Very 

 little attention has been devoted to 

 the question of raising varieties of 

 wheat which will thrive imder ex- 

 tremely arid conditions, though, 

 manifestly this is a problem 

 worthy of the best efforts of our 

 wheat-breeders. Though the wheats 

 which are at present popular vyith 

 growers seem to be well adapted 

 to the conditions under which they 

 are grown, there is not a single 

 variety whdich can be safely des- 

 cribed as free from defect. 



While a great deal may be ac- 

 comjilished ■ by scientific effort in 

 the produiction of new varieties 

 suitable for our driest areas, it is 

 not reasonable to expect that more 

 would be accomplished in a decade 

 in this way than by centuries of 

 care by past generations of wheat- 

 growers under arid climes. That 

 is to say, the production of 

 drought-resistant varieties is like- 

 ly to be successful if we use as 

 foundation stocks those varieties 

 which have been grown for gener- 

 ations under the very driest condi. 

 tions. 



(To be Continue'd). 



^ 



Laughing cheerfulnets throws sun- 

 licht on all the paths of life. — 

 Richter. 



HAVE Y©U EVER NOTieEO THIS ? 



The little bar of Soap has a big lot of talk on tlie wrapper : the smaller fcbe Soap, the 

 bigger the talk 'to make up for the shortage in weight, as it were. 



While the big bar of Soap, such as BURFORD'S PRIZE No. I has practically no 

 talk on the wrapper as none is needed. 



I 



Deeds, not .words, made BURFORD'S PRIZE No, I SOAP Popular, 



and keep it so. 



