With the growing scarcity of foodstuffs that has become a world-wide feature of the last few years, the wheatgrower is one of the most important necessities in civilisation. He has prospered in the past, but the future holds still greater and richer prospects. And in no country in the world are those prospects brighter than in the Commonwealth of Australia. The world's surface is gradually filling up, and most of the older countries have reached sight of the limit of cultivation, so the world's

On the average of the past five years the wheat yield of Australia represents about 2 per cent. of the world's production. The return per acre is low, but as has been pointed out, the cost of production is likewise low, and it is doubtful if in any other country the business of growing wheat is more profitable. The area now cultivated is but a mere percentage of what could be put under wheat profitably. The exact area is almost impossible to arrive at, for the simple reason that with improved me

The principal factors governing wheatgrowing in Australia are:— Conservation of soil moisture by fallowing the land. Sowing of varieties of wheat most suitable for the different districts. Judicious use of fertilisers. The settler has not to find these things out for himself. He has the assistance of well-organised and progressive departments of agriculture in the different States to tell him what to do, how and when to do it. The working of his land is a matter upon which he will be fully infor

Wheat land may be secured through public or private channels, but the area of available Government lands is greater in some States than others. The landseeker having decided in which State he is going to reside, will adopt the means of securing a wheat farm best suited to his capital. Not only are Crown lands being opened up, principally by railway construction, but in some States the Government purchases private estates, which are subdivided and sold in small areas to farmers on exceptionally e

The intending settler has to consider not only the capital required to secure his farm, whatever its nature, but also the expenditure necessary in obtaining a working farm plant. Prices of machinery cover a wide range, according to size, &c. In working 200 to 250 acres of wheat crop, the following plant would be required, and the prices given are approximately correct:— A chaffcutter ($67.00) might be added to the above list, and in some localities a roller, costing about $19.00, is requ

The settler having acquired his land, he will require to fence in his holding, and also subdivide it into convenient paddocks or fields. All Australian farms are fenced, and in districts in which the rabbit is a menace the boundary fences are wire-netted. Unless timber is very plentiful wire fences are almost universal. Posts, which are obtained from timber on the farm that is fallen, and split into the necessary lengths, are erected 9 or 11 ft. apart, with six or seven wires running through the

The cost of production of wheat is a most important matter to the grower. As already stated, the comparatively low yields in Australia are amply compensated for by the low cost of producing wheat. In regard to the work on the farm, the following figures are approximately the prices for different classes of work when it is done by contract:—Ploughing new ground, $1.68 per acre; old or fallowed ground, $1.45 per acre; harrowing, 18 cents to 24 cents per acre; cultivating, $0.50 per acre; drilling,

One of the most prominent and, in a sense, unique features of wheatgrowing in Australia is the share-farming system. In New South Wales, for instance, something like one-sixth of the wheat crop is put in on shares. Under this system the landowner and the worker with limited means co-operate to their mutual benefit. One provides the land and the other the labour, and, under certain conditions, they share the produce. Since it was introduced many years ago, share farming has become popular because

The different Australian States fully recognise the great value to the community of the farmer, and special steps are taken to assist him in different ways. Financial assistance is rendered through agricultural banks in West Australia and Queensland, the Credit Foncier in Victoria, and State Banks in New South Wales and South Australia. Through these Government institutions advances are made to settlers. Full particulars in this regard are furnished in another booklet, obtainable by intending se

Australia is essentially a "White Man's Country." Over 90 per cent. of the total population of 4,872,059 people are of British descent. The people are free and democratic, and their laws progressive and advanced; in industrial and social legislation Australia leads the world. It is essentially a peaceful country, and so far has been blessed by never having war within its boundaries. Respect for the law, and absence of violent crime is a marked feature of life in the Commonwealth. In the country