THE CONSUMPTION OF WHEAT 7 



features of the statistics, and there is evidence that as 

 wheat-growing areas these three countries have a 

 great future before them. Lastly, it is noticeable that 

 although wheat production has increased greatly, the 

 supply has never been too great to find a market, and 

 it is becoming increasingly evident that the demand 

 will become more intense as Western ideas and practice 

 become more established in the East. 



4. Technique of Marketing. 



Before discussing the question of marketing in New 

 Zealand a brief account of the American method of 

 placing the wheat crop on the market should be of 

 interest. The practice of marketing millions of 

 bushels of wheat within six or eight weeks after 

 harvesting, the storing of millions of bushels at the 

 local elevators, primary markets, and seaboard, the 

 rise of grain exchanges, are developments of recent 

 times in the United States, and they form the basis of 

 the complex but efficient method of marketing the 

 great cereal crops. The use of elevators renders the 

 cumbersome method of handling wheat in sacks un- 

 necessary after it has left the farm. Further, it 

 encourages the complete development of a grading 

 system, which in turn gives rise to the grain exchange. 



The buyer of wheat is always situated within 

 hauling distance of the producer. Two great classes 

 of buyers are in existence the local grain dealers and 

 the dealers representing the terminal grain buyers. The 

 latter class has been the main controlling factor in 

 the producer's grain market. The railroads generally 

 rely upon these two classes to provide the country 

 with elevator facilities for receiving and shipping 

 grain, and co-operate with them in this by furnishing 

 them with adequate transportation facilities. 



The grain is delivered at the nearest railway station 

 after threshing, and there it is graded by inspectors 

 appointed by the Government or the Board of Trade. 

 After the wheat has been assigned to a certain grade 



