216 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



answer the questions we have raised. The marginal rate 

 of profit from agriculture will tend to be equal to the 

 marginal rate of profit in pastoral farming, and accord- 

 ing to the degree in which this tendency is realised so 

 will the total profits from mixed farming approach a 

 maximum. It is because the marginal rates of profits 

 from the two occupations are relatively higher when 

 they are carried on in conjunction, that mixed farming 

 is tending to become the predominant feature of rural 

 industries in those districts where formerly purely 

 agricultural pursuits were in existence. 



