186 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



years. These tendencies in yield and acreage both bear 

 the mark of the influence of more intensive farming, and 

 are strongly indicative of the fact that it was about the 

 year 1895 that this influence began to be experienced. 

 Fourthly, according to Dr. Mcllraith, the rate of dis- 

 count, a convenient measure of the rate of interest, had 

 fallen in 1895 to about 5 per cent., and has remained at a 

 figure between 5 per cent, and 6 per cent, until recently. 

 It is obvious that this fall in the rate of interest would 

 have considerable influence on the means whereby 

 farmers might obtain sufficient capital to pursue inten- 

 sive methods of cultivation, which of necessity involves 

 not merely more labour, but also more capital. Finally, 

 by this time the Government was promoting, by its system 

 of taxation for social ends, and by its activity in pur- 

 chasing large estates, an intensive method of cultivation. 

 Furthermore, as internal development was progressing, 

 the means of transportation by railway were becoming 

 more prevalent; and the country, now quite recovered 

 from the gloom of the "eighties/' was pushing on the 

 construction of roads and bridges, and making rapid 

 progress in general development. It was circumstances 

 such as these which favoured the initiation of a new 

 system of agricultural and pastoral farming in New 

 Zealand, the development of which will occupy our 

 attention in the succeeding pages of this chapter. 



3. Land. 



(a) Definition of Region Under Investigation. lu 

 considering the question of the supplies of land available 

 for wheat production in New Zealand, it is necessary for 

 all practical purposes to confine our attention to Canter- 

 bury and North Otago as being the most suitable and 

 probable areas for production. Since the year 1868, when 

 regular annual statistics of crop and acreage for New 

 Zealand were first available, only a very small portion of 



