108 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



scattered over so wide a field was a difficulty in itself. 

 A further difficulty arose from the fact that much capital 

 was necessary, a great quantity of which was left lying 

 idle during the greater part of the year on a purely 

 agricultural estate. Where intensive cultivation is 

 practised, and the system of mixed farming (the chief 

 characteristic of rural life in Canterbury during the 

 last twenty years) is in operation, this difficulty is not 

 present. 



These disadvantages rendered the production of wheat 

 on a large scale a precarious pursuit, and when prices 

 began to fall and yield per acre decreased owing to the 

 predatory and unscientific methods of cultivation in 

 operation, wheat growing on such an extensive plan was 

 found to be of little or no profit in the long run. The 

 final blow to the large agricultural estate was struck in 

 the early "nineties" when the Graduated Land Tax came 

 into operation. But the development of the freezing 

 industry was equally important in bringing about the 

 transition from the large to the small estate in the wheat 

 producing area. 



The outstanding features of rural life in the wheat 

 producing area during the past twenty years is the small 

 holding on which mixed farming is in operation, and 

 intensive methods of cultivation are practised. Wheat 

 is no longer produced on large tracts of land used 

 exclusively for wheat production, but pastoral pursuits 

 are carried on in conjunction with cereal growing. This is 

 the system of mixed farming where the main products 

 are wool, frozen mutton, and wheat; and there is no 

 doubt that the successful co-ordination of these pursuits 

 is the most profitable system of farming for Canterbury, 

 in the wheat producing area. A suitable system of crop 

 rotation is necessary for the successful culture of wheat, 

 while in Canterbury and North Otago, the pastures which 

 are required for sheep farming necessitate careful culti- 



