14 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



CHAPTER II. 



THE PRODUCTION OF WHEAT. 



1. Geographical Distribution of Wheat Producing 

 Areas. 



Throughout the vast expanses of the temperate zones 

 the production of wheat has been by far the most general 

 agricultural pursuit, from the point of view, not only 

 of the universality of its cultivation, but also from the 

 absolute amount of land, capital, and labour devoted 

 to its production. Practised by the Ancients when the 

 seat of civilisation was centred in Southern Europe, its 

 cultivation was the leading occupation of agriculturists 

 in Western Europe in Medieval times. Finally, as the 

 spread of civilisation moved to the Western World, wheat 

 growing accompanied it, and indeed, almost preceded it. 



For the present purposes of classifying producing 

 areas, it will be best to divide the areas into two great 

 subdivisions, viz., those in the Northern Hemisphere, and 

 those in the Southern Hemisphere. 



(a) Northern Hemisphere. Two great producing 

 areas are distinguishable in this sphere, one situated in 

 the Old World, and the other in the New World. The 

 former area has been the centre of wheat cultivation for 

 nearly two thousand years, and at present produces more 

 than half the world's wheat crop. Throughout the 

 whole of Europe wheat growing is practised universally, 

 and in most countries it is still the premier agricultural 

 pursuit, despite the fact that wheat is imported in 

 increasing quantities year by year. 



The area further extends into Southern Asia and 

 Northern Africa, while Japan in the Far East is 

 assuming a position of increasing importance as a pro- 

 ducer of wheat, and the unbounded resources of the 

 Steppes of Siberia, even now producing more than 150 

 million bushels per annum, contain unknown possibilities 



