MANITOBA WHEATS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9817, 28 August 1897, Page 7

MANITOBA WHEATS.

A report has been received by the Minister for. Mines and Agriculture in New South Wales from Dr. N. A. Cobb, pathologist of the department, with regard to Manitoba wheats grown at Wagga and Bathurst. The climate of the Riverina, after four years' trial, has, he says, proved to be unsuitable for this class of wheat. After a trial of two years at Bathurst, however, the climate there seems to be more favourable. Good samples can be grown. in the colder districts, such as Orange, New England, and other parts. In his opinion the growth of these sorts should be encouraged wherever they will thrive, not only because the flour they produce is superior, but because under proper circumstances they are good yielders and resistant to rust and some otherdiseases. The fact that the crop in the colony was short last year was, Dr. Cobb states, not an unmixed evil, as many millers had to import Canadian wheat, and when this flour got into the hands of the bakers they realised its superior quality, while the consumers were also delighted. The bakers were able to make more loaves out of a given quantity, and the consumers obtained a better quality of bread. One of our principal millers {says the Sydney Telegraph) is sending out samples of the Manitoba wheats to the farmers, with the view of encouraging the growth of it. It will not, however, grow in the usual wheat-producing districts of the colony, but can stand any cold that is found in New South Wales. Dr. Cobb is an authority on the quality of wheats, and his views are, therefore, of considerable value in this respect.