GENERAL CONDITIONS IN NEW ZEALAND 39 



States. Consequently when the application of certain 

 manures to our soils is advocated, it must not be thought 

 that this is solely on account of a diminished fertility. 

 On the other hand, by the employment of incremental 

 additions of capital, (manure in this specific case) the 

 farmer will get higher proportional returns up to a 

 certain point. Hence, in addition to manuring the root 

 crops preceding wheat, it has become the practice in 

 many parts to manure the wheat crop also. This 

 practice, however, should not have a very detrimental 

 effect on wheat growing in New Zealand, for, in the 

 first place, "it is now certain that wheat nearly always 

 responds to phosphatic manures,"* and, secondly, certain 

 manures are easily obtainable in New Zealand on account 

 of the freezing industry. We shall see later in analysing 

 costs of production what proportion is attributable to 

 manures. 



4. Climatic Conditions. 



A detailed analysis of climatic conditions is of 

 paramount importance in any investigation relating to 

 agriculture, for no one will dispute the fact that there 

 is a connection between productivity and meteorological 

 conditions, though the degree of this relationship is not 

 yet exactly established. The climate of New Zealand 

 has to be considered in relation to three main features : 



(1) Its position, stretching for nearly a thousand 

 miles southward of latitude 34 south. 



(2) Its insular position, situated in the greatest 

 ocean of the World, from which no part of 

 the country is more than 75 miles distant. 



(3) Its physical features, especially the mountain 

 chains, running mostly north and south, and 

 affording differential aspects. 



From a survey of these it is obvious that New Zealand 

 can rank with any of the great wheat producing countries 

 of the World so far as favourable weather conditions 

 are concerned. 



*Dr. Hilgendorf, in "The New Zealand Journal of Agri- 

 culture/ ' March, 1915. 



