294 Agrieulture and Horticulture in New Zealand. 
— rye-grass (Lolzum perenne, L. italicum) 63,031 acres; barley 37,486 acres; 
cocksfoot (Daetylis glomerata) 34,007 acres; potatoes 23,480 acres and peas 
i 19,649 acres. Maize, a subtropical crop, occupied 4,683 acres. Grain-growing. 
is .carried on to far the greatest extent in Canterbury and Otago (including 
Southland), the amount of land used elsewhere being of no moment in com- 
parison. Indeed, with regard to crops in general the South Island (principally 
Canterbury and Otago) plays by far a greater part than the North Island as 
the following figures show: South 1,416,707 acres; North 312,797. Several 
. of the minor crops are chiefly the product of restricted areas, e. g. — Barley 
(Nelson and Central Otago); cocksfoot (Banks Peninsula); rye-grass (Western 
Wellington); hops (Nelson, but only about 700 acres); maize (Auckland 
3,961 acres, but elsewhere in the North Island only to a very limited extent‘). 
As food for sheep turnips and rape are largely grown, the area being 
439,740 acres for the former and 257,155 for the latter. * 
‚The yield of the staple crops is a matter of interest. Until quite recent 
years, no manure of any kind was applied to the land, but, at the present 
time, various artifical fertilizers are used to a -aisiderable . The average 
“ yields are as follows: — Oats 46.46 bushels per acre; wheat 27.85; potatoes 
5 tons per acre; turnips ı2 tons per acre; mangolds 20 tons per acre; peas 
30 bushels per acre; maize 46 bushels per acre. 
Statistics regarding the live-stock are of no small importance, especially 
when it is remembered that a considerable part are depastured on the indigenous 
formations. _ Figures up to ıgı2 are unfortunately not available in all cases. 
” Sheep for 1912 numbered 23,750,153 (North Island 12,618,089,. South Island 
11,132,064), an increase of nearly 5,000,000 since 1903; cattle 2,020,171 of 
which 79 p. c. belong to the North Island. Taking dairy cattle separately 
those of the North Island number 591,789 and those of the South Island 
212,289. How important the dairy industry has become is shown by the fact 
that the total production of butter and cheese respectively for ıg12 was. 
: 576,556 cwt and 606,236, and it must not be forgotten that a very considerable 
_ percentage came from the land formerly occupied by taxad rain-forest. How 
eminently suited is the soil under exactly the same climatic environment for 
rain-forest, on the ‘one hand, and for rich meadow, on the other, is shown 
‚by the fact ‚that within a radius of 20 miles of the township of Eltham in 
Taranaki, ‚where 30. years ago rain-forest held ee, ‚Sway, the ‚value of 
the ul alone i is about & 2,000,000. 
* 
ge ee 3 ae = 2 Horticulture. u in 3, 
Horticulture, since en Se reflecs 
elimatie and edaphic conditions to no small degree. Speaking generally, th 
lowland climate throughout the region, with the exception of the Subantareti 
: province, permits the a in. 1 the un ar 4 BT: ass not | 
