CONCLUSION 289 



rivers traverse these plains from the mountains, for some 

 time great inconvenience was experienced, owing to the 

 lack of water in the districts lying between the rivers. 

 Since the country has been intersected with innumerable 

 water-races this difficulty has been largely surmounted, 

 but there are still many problems of irrigation which 

 remain unsolved. 



The experiments carried out at the Agricultural 

 Colleges, and in particular at the Canterbury Agricul- 

 tural College, should prove an interesting chapter in a 

 work on Agriculture in New Zealand. Not only has it 

 been demonstrated that our lands yield between 30 and 

 50 bushels of wheat per acre if farmed on scientific 

 principles, thus proving the efficacy of intensive culture, 

 but many other questions, such as the endeavour to 

 discover a variety for New Zealand which will adjust 

 itself to the peculiar conditions of the country, or, again, 

 the prevention of smut and other pests in wheat, and 

 the processes by which noxious weeds can best be exter- 

 minated, are receiving the closest attention on the 

 farms connected with these Colleges. Much good might 

 be done by a treatise which would bring this work under 

 the notice of farmers even more than it is at present. 

 Dr. Hilgendorf has done this for the problem of wheat 

 selection by his contribution in Chapter V. of this work. 



Among other problems which provide ample scope for 

 future research work is one, the probable solution of 

 which I had anticipated at the outset. In Australia, 

 where the conditions of successful study are more closely 

 realised, the problem has received a fairly definite 

 solution. 



It was my intention to discover the connection, if any, 

 between the yield per acre and the rainfall for New 

 Zealand. The steps taken to discover this connection 

 need not be described again here; they are set out in 

 Chapter III. The chief difficulty has been lack of 



