[Our readers may be interested in the following account of how Algerian oats first came to be utilised in Victoria. Some twelve years since Baron von Mueller forwarded a small parcel of the oats to the Baringhup and Maldon Agricultural Society, with a request that they would experiment on them.]1
The article continues the quotation from the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria journal:
'The society, in its turn, parcelled them out amongst the farmers of the district. Most, however, did not take the trouble to do anything in the matter. Two gentlemen, however—Messrs. Charles Daw and Walter Rollason—determined on giving the oats a trial, and with a small quantity of seed—Mr. Daw with an eggcupful and Mr. Rollason with a few pinches—commenced the trial. The oats throve amazingly, and in a few years they were able to sell some bags for seed to their neighbors, and now the Algerian oat is the most popular, and perhaps more grown than any other in Victoria. Of course there may have been instances of others making the same experiment as Messrs. Daw and Rollason, but we have not heard of them.'
Letter not found. The text given here is from Tarrangower times and Maldon, Newstead, Baringhup, Laancoorie and Muckleford advertiser, 9 August 1893, p [2], col. c. The item is stated to 1881 based upon 'some 12 years since'. The extract is preceded by "The journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria says:—
Please cite as “FVM-81-00-00l,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on