PREFACE. 



In 1915 I presented the results of an investigation into "The 

 Progress and Importance of Wheat Production in New Zealand " 

 as a thesis being part of the work required for Honours in Eco- 

 nomics at the annual examinations conducted by the University 

 of New Zealand. I was subsequently encouraged to publish the 

 work. After much delay, occasioned by the pressure of other 

 interests, I have revised it, and I now present it for consider- 

 ation (and criticism) to all who are interested in the rural 

 industries of New Zealand. 



Dr. Hilgendorf has greatly added to the value of the work 

 by contributing a chapter on "The Improvement of Wheat by 

 Selection in New Zealand/' which contains an account of his 

 work in this problem at the Canterbury Agricultural College. 

 An Introduction by Dr. Hight, explanatory of the nature and 

 purpose of the work, completes the volume. 



It is indeed fitting that the wheat industry in New Zealand 

 should receive attention at this particular time. A stage has 

 been reached in the rural industries of the Dominion which 

 is causing some anxiety. The present tendency towards pastoral 

 farming, it is said, ia causing such an efflux of labour and 

 capital from purely agricultural pursuits that these are becoming 

 endangered. The persistent decline in wheat production during 

 the past decade has occasioned much apprehension in the 

 community generally, and it is thought that our home supply 

 will not satisfy the demands of local consumers. The expec- 

 tation of a large permanent importation * has brought the 

 problems connected with the wheat industry prominently before 

 the public mind, and has recently induced much discussion by 

 all classes of the community. But there is need of reliable 

 information and general principles to assist discussion, and the 

 hope that this work may do something towards achieving this 

 end, is the main motive for presenting it to the public. It 

 may be claimed that the investigation is not merely of partic- 

 ular interest to the individual industry in which it is under- 

 taken; for although the opportunity and necessity for research 

 work are equally great, very little has been done in the sphere 

 of scientific economic research in New Zealand. "We have 

 no sufficient means of forming a precise estimate of our 



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