178 EXPERIMENTS WITH INDIAN WHEATS IN QUEENSLAND. 



instead of leaving tlie ground witli dead maize-stalks on it to 

 perfect a crop of useless weeds. This tall black-bearded wheat 

 grows from five to six feet high, has a large hard grain, and 

 though millers may not like to grind it for flour, the wheat will 

 be found most useful for domestic consumption, equal, if not 

 superior to maize, in fact, will turn out to be a second Indian 

 corn of high economic importance. 



There are now here four Indian wheats that I have selected 

 as the forms most suited to our sea-board. The largest, No. 1, 

 is that above described, w4th hard large grain, and adapted to rich 

 scrub soil. No. 2 is the common Indian bearded wheat, which 

 grows from three to four feet high, uniformlj successful on 

 higher land, the margins of scrubs, and on red soil country. 

 The grain is of medium hardness. Two others are beardless 

 w^ieats, very like English wheat, one with red chaff, the other 

 white. The red, No. 8, is the more robust, and the grain 

 resembles number 2. The white wheat. No. 4, has a smaller 

 grain, about as soft as the European sorts generally grow^n in 

 Australia. I submitted samples of this wheat to Messrs. 

 Harrison & Co., millers in Terowie, South Australia, and 

 obtained from them an opinion of its qualities. They con- 

 sidered the wheat a good milling sort, the best of the sorts 

 I had sent, but injured by damp, as such grain has a very 

 small black speck upon it. This spot, however, is formed 

 on all grain, independent of damp and is well marked when 

 grown in the di-iest situations. The ears of this wheat are not 

 large, but I do not doubt if cultivated with care it would give 

 a remunerative yield. Hard wheat does not suffer to the same 

 extent from the ravages of moths and weevils as soft wheat. 



Recently, Mr. Bernays has favoured me with a pamphlet on 

 wheat, issued hy the Punjab Government, compiled with great 

 care to further the export of Indian wheat as bread-stuffs for Great 

 Britain. Here are mentioned very many sorts that have never 

 yet been tried in this country. On submitting the information 

 to Mr. Dutton, the Minister for Lands, it has been decided to 

 ask the Punjab Government to assist us by sending samples of 

 as many kinds as possible, and the sum of £100 has been placed 

 on the estimates to further the cultivation. 



Now that we are assured of possessing wheats fairly rust- 

 proof it is to be hoped that efforts will be made in producing 

 wheat, as at present nearly all our flour in Queensland is 

 imported. 



It may be as well to mention here that great stress has been 

 laid on the unsuitability of Queensland as a home for European 



