1 Nov., 1899,] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, I 431. 
The Farmer and the Frost. 
“Tire king himself is served by the field.” Without the farmer, war would be 
an impossibility. The mining industry, arts and sciences, shi -building, manu- 
factures, and trade and commerce generally, are practically all dependent upon 
the science and practice of agriculture. The races which neglect. the tillage of 
the soil are those which are the first to be swept into oblivion. We have but to 
consider any nomadic race, such as were many of the now extinct North 
American horse Indians, some of the lower African tribes, such as the Hotten- 
tots, and all the aboriginal tribes of Australasia. These, whose very existence 
depended upon war and hunting, have either become extinct or have degene- 
rated into a mere handful of hewers of wood and drawers of water. On the 
other hand, we find that all nations, whether of aboriginal or colonising extrac- 
tion, which have made agriculture part of their national employment and 
wealth, have not only held their own, but have increased and multiplied, and 
have risen to a foremost position in the world. Without agriculture, everything 
must come to a standstill. 
Recognising the national importance of the cultivation of the soil, most 
civilised Governments have devoted large sums to the establishment of agricul- 
tural colleges, to the introduction of new plants of economic value, to the 
improvement of breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry, and to the 
appointment of specialists in the various branches of rural economy, to aid and 
instruct the farmers in the best and most economical modes of cultivation, 
harvesting, marketing, and stock-breeding. In no branch of pure agriculture 
have so much pains been taken as in the cultivation of wheat, and this need not 
be wondered at, for of all field crops, wheat is the most important, serving as it 
does to supply the principal wants of a very large proportion of the human 
race. 
By careful selection of seed it has almost come about that certain varieties 
of wheat have become proof against rust. By the same selection. it has become 
possible to produce more wheat per acre than our ancestors dreamed. of, and at 
a cost which appears insignificant in comparison with results, It might be 
supposed that these results depend on climate and soil, but when one considers 
all that is known of the various conditions under which wheat is erown, from 
the cold regions up to the 62nd parallel of north latitude to the torrid zone, in. 
all sorts of climates and on all sorts of soil; when one sees how the crop can 
vary on the same piece of land from 5 to 50 bushels per acre according to how 
that piece of land is cultivated, and with but a modest expenditure for chemical 
manure, one comes to the conclusion, as the French peasant says, that ‘“ the 
land is worth what the man is worth.” 
Dry clay and river sand, properly manured and irrigated, will yield 
heavier crops than those of the Darling Downs. All depends on the culture. 
Where the land is cultivated intensively, as in England, France, and Belgium, 
heayy crops are obtained. In some districts in Great Britain 40 bushels per 
acre is the average, whilst 57 bushels have been obtained on allotments, and 
a record of GO has been reached. In France, anything over 33} bushels is 
considered a satisfactory yield. Kropotkin says that the French farmers’ 
progress in wheat culture may be illustrated by the classical example of a farm 
of the Thourassin family, not far from Paris. Since 1784 four generations of 
the same family have succeeded on this estate of 667 acres, and their successive 
crops were as follow :— 
Wheat Crops. 
Year. Bushels per Acre. 
1784-1810 A se . oe 20 to 27 (4 under fallow) 
1810-1836 aa on + 22% to 88 (no fallow) 
1836-1862 chy a » 281046 4, 4 
1862-1877 pee gee eee 36 to 57 ” 
