294 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



ventures; all these are essential qualities of a successful 

 farmer in these days of high specialisation and keen 

 competition. 



Finally, steps should be taken to disseminate accurate 

 and complete information re the art of agriculture and 

 its related sciences, more widely than is done at present. 

 Some excellent opportunities for this already exist in 

 the form of several publications, the most important of 

 which are The Journal of Agriculture, The Canterbury 

 Agricultural College Magazine, The Journal of the 

 Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and 

 The Farmers' Union Advocate. By making greater 

 provision for authoritative articles on agriculture, in- 

 cluding its economics, a phase of the subject much 

 neglected in New Zealand, by summarising official 

 statistics, and by securing accurate market reports, these 

 journals would stimulate progress along many of the 

 lines I have already indicated. It is only by providing 

 the farmer with material likely to increase his returns 

 that the journals can hope to attain a wide circulation. 

 At present, in spite of the excellent quality of much 

 of the material that appears in the agricultural sections 

 of the weekly papers, farmers as a body are but poorly 

 read even in local agricultural literature. 



This brief resume of the various lines of improvement 

 which this investigation has suggested, is by no means 

 exhaustive. A careful consideration of the text through- 

 out reveals many others, such as improvements in the 

 land tenure system, some tangible form of Government 

 encouragement in the way of establishing an Experi- 

 mental Farm in South Canterbury, improved methods 

 of harvesting, better facilities for exportation, and so 

 forth. I have selected those most practicable and of 

 immediate importance for statement here. 



