Environmental Monitoring Commons^™

Some Wildflowers Of Western Australia, C. F. H. Jenkins, A. S. George

Bulletins - 3000 - 3999

MUCH recent discussion on conservation has centred around the importance of wild flower reserves and the need for protecting one of thci State's most important tourist attractions. Although less important to visitors than the flowers, many of our wild animals hold equal interest for nature lovers and scientists, and they also need protection.

ALTHOUGH the brilliance and diversity of West Australian wildflowers are widely appreci­ated, the localities where they can best be observed in their natural state are not so well known.

In this article a brief outline is given of the more important districts in the south western part …

The Growing Season, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia, Bureau Of Meteorology

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

IN AUSTRALIA the seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring do not have the importance that they have in the Old World, and though summer and winter weather are quite different, there is not the obvious difference in autumn and spring conditions that there is in the colder countries.

This is largely due to the difference in vegetation and in its life cycle in the different places.

Likelihood Of Drought Years In South-Western Australia : How Often Can Droughts Such As That Of 1969 Be Expected In Western Australia's Farming Areas?, Eugene Adsil Fitzpatrick

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Because of the serious consequences of drought to individual farmers and to Western Australia's economy, it is worth making an early appraisal of the 1969 rainfall conditions that led to the State's most recent drought in an attempt to estimate how often such seasons might be expected in the agricultural areas.

Dry Season In The Eastern And North-Eastern Wheatbelt, George Henry Burvill

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The drought of 1969 ended an 11-year run of good seasons in the eastern and north-eastern wheatbelt. Good years usually have above average rainfall; wheat yields and pasture growth are greatly reduced if rains are well below average. Eighty years records show that half the years must be expected to be below average and about one-third could be well below. This area produces one-third of the State's wheat and has 9 per cent, of its sheep.

History Of The State Vermin Barrier Fences, Formerly Known As Rabbit Proof Fences, J S. Crawford

Research Reports

There is evidence of rabbits arriving in Australia as far back as 1788, and it is well known that others were liberated on islands around the coast, including some off the coast of Western Australia. However, they remained localised and it is now generally accepted that the rabbits which did spread originated from a small shipment of the wild type brought on the Clipper “Lightning” in 1859. They were released on “Barwon Park”, the property of Thomas Austin, near Geelong in Victoria, and within three years, had reached pest proportions

Bulletin No 3609 - Land Development In The South Eastern Wheatbelt, G T. Halpin, P. Nelson

Bulletins - 3000 - 3999

Interest in the development of light lands in the south-eastern wheatbelt was spurred by the many ex-servicemen seeking farms after the 1939-45 World War.

Previous attempts to develop this area had been frustrated by poor crop yields, and by the poor carrying capacity of those volunteer pastures which developed on cleared land.

Research into reasons for the poor crop results was begun in 1948-49 with trials sown by Messrs Smith and Halpin between Borden and Lake Grace. The results clearly showed the important role played by copper and zinc in successful crop growth. Since then, field trials have been conducted …

Bulletin No 3547 - Kimberley Research Station - Progress Report 1968, Western Australian Department Of Agriculture

Bulletins - 3000 - 3999

Rivers flowing to the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Timor Sea have been estimated by hydrologists to carry about three times the water transported annually over the Murray drainage system and the South Eastern slopes which, together, comprise the highly settled agricultural areas of South Eastern Australia.

In 1945, the North Australian Development Committee recommended research in the Ord-Victoria rivers region as a first step toward ultimate agricultural development of this Northern potential and, in 1946, the Kim- berley Research Station commenced operations under the joint control of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and the Western Australian Department …

Fisheries Report No 3 - Western Australian Freshwater Fisheries, Donald D. Francois

Fisheries Research Reports

Most of the Australian States have a comprehensive system of inland waterways, Western Australia, however, is in a less fortunate position. True, the maps of the State show many rivers, but in much of the southern, more populous part, with no summer rain and no winter snow, the majority are virtually a chain of waterholes during the long summer months. At the same time, in a relatively small section in the south-west corner, there is a series of permanent streams flowing through what was originally dense forest. But apart from the three indigenous freshwater crustaceans, the marron (Cherax tenuimanus), the …

How To Measure The Capacity Of Farm Dams, G Gauntlett

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

AT some time or another nearly every farmer needs to be able to measure the capacity of an ordinary farm dam of the "excavated earth tank" type and many requests are made for a method of calculating this volume.

This article describes how this can be done.

Salt Land Survey, 1962 : Report Of A Survey Of Soil Salinity In The Agricultural Areas Of Western Australia, L C. Lightfoot, S. T. Smith, C. V. Malcolm

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

IN Western Australia there are within the agricultural areas about one million acres of salt land, largely within the 14-25 inch rainfall area used for cereal and wool production.

In March, 1962, farmers in 68 shires in the agricultural areas of Western Australia estimated that on their properties 305,270 acres of land previously cropped or sown to pasture had become salt affected. Of this total, 59,203 acres had gone salt in the seven years immediately before the survey.

Fisheries Report Ii (2) - Preliminary Report On The Effectiveness Of Escape-Gaps In Crayfish-Pots, B. K. Bowen

Fisheries Research Reports

The Western Australian commercial crayfish, Panulinrus cy,nus George, (1962)", is caught in depths ranging from a few feet to approximately 45 fathoms. In the shallow waters large numbers of crayfish measuring, less than the legal minimum length are brought to the surface in the standard commercial crayfish pots. The law requires that these undersize crayfish be returned to the sea, but there is always the temptation to retain them for illegal sale. In addition, the undersize crayfish which are returned to the sea are often damaged by handling. The probability is that their mortality rate is higher than those which …

Fossils And Farmers, D Merrilees

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The West Australian Museum is looking for fossil remains from the Pleistocene age, the period of geological time when Europe was covered with ice.

Little is known of what the Australian continent was like at that time, and the Museum hopes, by collecting as many fossil remains as possible, to get a better picture of Australian conditions at that time.

It is also hoped to discover more about the ancestors of our present marsupial fauna.

Farmers may be able to make a valuable contribution to the present knowledge of this period by forwarding suspected fossil remains to the Museum. Here …

Fossils And Farmers. 2. The Ice Age, D Merrilees

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

What did the giant Australian marsupials of the "Ice Age" look like?

Fossil remains found by farmers could help reconstruct them, as well as giving some idea of conditions on the Australian continent at that time, says D. Merrilees, B.Sc, acting Curator of Palaeontology at the West Australian Museum.

Weed Research. 7. Weed Control Around The Yard, Geoffrey A. Pearce

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

MANY farmers and city householders have weed problems around houses and sheds which can be readily overcome by treatment with appropriate herbicides.

The risk from fire through weeds and unslightly growth can easily be removed and an area free of any plant growth can be maintained with little effort for a considerable period.

Leaflet No 1003 - The Salt Problem In The Wheat Belt, G. H. Burvill

Bulletins 1 - 2999

IN the wheat belt of Western Australian bare patches in farm paddocks are often seen. Many are bare, or almost bare, because of too much salt in the soil. The excess of salt prevents the germination of seeds, or kills living plants, because it causes the water supply for germination or growth to be cut off. This salt problem is so serious in places that single farms or groups of farms have been ruined; wheat growing on them has become unprofitable.

Bulletin 115 - The Value Of Windmills For Pumping Water In Western Australia, A. H. Scott

Bulletins 1 - 2999

It is surprising to note the dearth of up-to-date reliable information dealing with actual results of modern windmills, under working conditions, though literature on thousands of other subjects less important can usually be obtained.

In this bulletin there is presented a complete and accurate record of the amount of water pumped daily by a windmill, under actual working conditions, for a period of 14 months.

Bulletin No 32 - Noxious Weeds And Poison Plants, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Bulletins 1 - 2999

Many settlers, new to this State, find some difficulty in distinguishing those vegetable pests which are classed as noxious weeds, the eradication of which is made compulsory under the Noxious Weeds Act of 1904.

In order to facilitate the ready recognition of the plants which are the least familiar, the Department of Agriculture has prepared this Bulletin, giving illustrations of the several varieties which have been gazetted as noxious. these are: - Stinkwort, Bathurst Burr, Noogoorn Burr, Nut Bramble, Spanish Radish, Prickly Pear, Apple of Sodom, sweet Briar, Wild Bramble, Star Thistle (purple), Double Gee and Water hyacinth.