the second week in November in an ordinary season—as a rule—we shall. 
Possibly find that we are out of it. I believe there are some really rust-proof 
wheats ; the worst of it is, however, the miller cannot look at them. One might 
say that some of them are a sort of a cross between barley and some hard 
material. They are like Mark ‘'wain’s hog-proof potato—when the pigs passed. 
it, everybody else did ; and although it made excellent road metal, it was found. 
worthless for any other purpose. 
__ Now, I will say a few words about wheat distribution. Itisa singular 
thing, but though the production of wheat is very far below the colony’s 
requirements, farmers have sometimes, if not often, a difficulty in disposing of 
their crops at fair market rates. There are various reasons for this. Inthe. 
first place, millers are few, and competition is reduced to a minimum, and I am. 
afraid it is a fact which cannot be denied that often, if not generally, an 
arrangement is made between the majority of the millers as to what price they: 
shall give for wheat, and any miller standing out is bound to follow suit. As— 
this price is often below what, considering the relative price of flour-wheat is 
worth, the farmer refuses to sell. - Another cause for the difficulty of selling 
wheat is, that as a rule, in Queensland, all the crop is put upon the market or — 
attempted to be put on the market within a month or two or, say, within three ~ 
months. There is another difliculty affecting wheat distribution connected with’ 
the railways, which I understand is to be brought up in another form, and which, 
therefore, I shall not touch. With regard to the first difficulty, it has been 
proposed to establish central mills for the wheat farmers in the same manner 
and, I presume, on the same conditions as the central mills for the sugar- 
grower. J am loth to give an opinion. I would prefer to encourage, by bonus 
or through the Customs, the establishment of more flour-mills by private or- 
joint stock enterprise. Tlour-milling must be one of the most profitable occu-. 
pations in the colony, and it is a wonder that men having a decent capital and 
seeking to make it more, or to turn it into a fortune, do not enter upon the « 
business. I hope, too, the time is not far distant when individuals who now. _ 
invest their savings in Wild Cat Mines in various places, or in Melbourne: 
Sweeps, will promote companies and invest in this and other paying industries, 
andthus assist to assure an undoubted prosperity to the colony. - 
The subject of barley-growing is also set down to me. Certainly have grown 
barley off and on for the last seven years, still I would not like to pronounce an 
opinion upon it. I mean malting barley. I hope some members of the Con- 
ference will discuss it. My experience is that it takes longer to develop) than; 
spring wheat, and therefore should be sown early. I know it yields as well, if: 
not better, that it is less liable to rust, and that often there isa ‘good demand. 
for it—a demand which is likely to increase year by year. When it should be. 
cut I should like to know—when dead ripe and swan-necked, as in the old 
country; or in the dough stage, as experience has taught us we should cut’ 
wheat? It is a beautiful crop to grow in any case: 
For the free and happy barley 
Is the monarch of them all. ’ 
Professor Suznron pointed out that the Allora spring wheat had originally . 
come from California, Otherwise Mr. Deacon’s history of this variety had. 
been perfectly accurate. 
Mr. Deacon stated that he thought it was a Minnesota wheat. 
Mr. Movxpay considered wheat a profitable crop to grow, when the. price. 
was 4s. a bushel or over. his year they had got a good price for their 
wheat, \but last year they had got practically nothing, while the year. before 
that they had got a good crop, but no price. A difficulty with spring wheat, 
was that it was very hard to harvest in wet weather. . ; 
Mr. W. D. Lams (Yangan) concurred with Mr. Deacon in his. remarks 
about Allora spring wheat. However, there were other varieties coming into 
favour in Queensland, and among these was the Belatourka. This latter 
variety would withstand wet weather, and, although originally disliked by. 
millers, it now fetched a good price. Budd’s Early was another promising 
