36 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



reason for this is that the texture of the soil varies, the 

 first part being too dense, and the second part too porous. 



In the settlement of new countries those portions 

 which, by their sufficiency of water supply and their 

 suitability of soil conditions, lend themselves readily 

 to agriculture are first settled. This is well illustrated 

 by the early settlement of Canterbury. When population 

 increases and new lands must be settled, steps are taken 

 by individuals for the provision of water supply; but 

 in the absence of reliable information on the quality and 

 texture of the soil, much of this work is in vain. What 

 is necessary is a central institution to collect information 

 on these matters before any further work is done. The 

 Department required may be designated the Bureau of 

 Soils Department, and could very well be a branch of 

 the Department of Agriculture, which in many countries 

 has hitherto been content to deal mainly with farm 

 produce. 



1 i Where soil surveys have been made they have proved 

 of immense value. The individual farmer can learn 

 the relationship of the soils upon his own farm to soils 

 of the same character in other parts of the country. He 

 can observe and study more closely the methods and 

 results that have been obtained by successful farmers 

 upon such soils; he can apply the experience and obser- 

 vations of others to his own particular needs and 

 conditions, determine the crop or crops to which his 

 particular soils are best adapted, and ascertain the 

 systems of crop rotation, tillage, and fertilisation calcu- 

 lated to produce the maximum crops from these soils 

 without impoverishing his farm." 1 



In his 1907 Report the New Zealand Government 

 Analyst outlined a plan for conducting a soil survey, 

 of which I shall give a brief summary. 



The essence of the plan is the personal investigation 

 of a soil survey party who shall furnish a report on each 



*Mr. Edwin Hall, in a paper read before the A. and P. 

 Societies' Conference. 



