The profitable nature of wheatgrowing in Australia is shown by the comfortable homesteads and the strong financial position of numerous families in the wheat districts. Many of these successful wheatgrowers, indeed most of them, are men who started with little or no capital in cash, but with plenty of energy and willingness to work. They have built homes for themselves in the "bush," and found prosperity, and there is room for thousands of other men to follow in their footsteps. In a favourable year a wheatfarmer will often receive as much, or more, for his crop than the capital value of his land. [Illustration: FIRST STAGES OF CROPPING.] In the early stages of wheatgrowing in Australia mistakes were made and progress was slow. Wheat was grown in the wrong soil and districts, and suitable varieties of the cereal were not available. Cultivation was confined to the moist coastal country, with its annual rainfall of 30 to 40 in., and wheat was not a success. The discovery that the drier districts inland were more suitable for wheatgrowing altered the position very happily. The bulk of the wheat is now grown in districts with a rainfall of 20 to 25 in. and under. This averaged rainfall is considered sufficient for wheatgrowing, and safer than a heavier rainfall. Wheatgrowing has been most profitable in districts with a rainfall below 20 in., and an average of 40 bushels per acre has been harvested from 600 acres. On well-worked fallowed land splendid money-making crops have been gathered, although the growing crop only had 2 or 3 in. of rain. In Australian wheat districts the quantity of rain is not as important as the time of the year in which it falls. Rain is wanted in the early autumn, so that ploughing can be done, and in the spring, when the wheat is heading and flowering. With rain in April and May, and again in September or October, the Australian wheatgrower is assured of a fine crop. In the wheat districts those are the seasonable times to get rain. The summer is usually dry and warm, and this is one of the main advantages from the wheatgrower's standpoint. This fine dry weather--which is exceptionally healthy for the human being--means the production of a high-class grain, for which there is an unlimited demand in the world's markets. Unless the common rule is broken, and the season is unduly wet, there is no fear of rust, and nothing to interfere with the haymaking. The main crop, which is kept for grain, can be left standing safely in the paddocks until it is thoroughly ripe, when it is taken off with a stripper or harvester and bagged. So the districts that have heavy summer rains are largely unsuitable for wheatgrowing, but those in which the rains fall during the autumn, winter, and spring, and have dry summers, are most suitable.