298 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 



of actual production in the near future. There is every 

 reason to suppose that wheat production will be a profit- 

 able pursuit for many years. But there has been a 

 serious reaction in the farming community against the 

 pursuit, and this may prove embarrassing; and the 

 people would be well advised to proceed upon a more 

 sound understanding in dealing with the problem. 

 Certainly it would seem that the farmers in Canterbury 

 will find it to their interests to continue the practice of 

 mixed farming, and thus to grow small quantities of 

 wheat. A rising market will bring its own reward. 

 Should shortage occur again, the Government will have 

 more reliable information than during the recent * ' wheat 

 crisis," and will doubtless have supplies from abroad 

 under consideration. It is considered by some that it 

 would be a wise policy to import our supplies of wheat 

 and thus to obviate the controversies and difficulties 

 which the wheat question gives rise to. If, however, the 

 Government attempts to encourage the industry on the 

 general lines indicated above, and to convince the rural 

 community and the people generally of the extreme 

 importance of wheat production to the Dominion, then 

 the future, both immediate and ultimate, should be no 

 cause for anxiety. The War, however destructive it 

 seems, will benefit New Zealand materially in so far as 

 it raises the price of primary produce, and perhaps most 

 of all the wheat industry, in the output of which a 

 general world- wide shortage is anticipated. If our 

 investigation does nothing more than allay apprehension 

 regarding the present apparently decadent state of the 

 industry, a useful function will be performed. A young 

 country, with abundant natural resources, an excellent 

 climate, a rich fertile soil, a vigorous and energetic 

 population, and last, and most important of all, a 

 comparatively highly educated and well governed 

 democracy, may look towards the future with serenity, 

 and the expectation of increasing prosperity. 



