14 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
Cuaprter II. 
THE PRODUCTION OF WHEAT. 
1. Geographical Distribution of Wheat Producing 
Areas. 
Throughout the vast expanses of the temperate zones 
the production of wheat has been by far the most general 
agricultural pursuit, from the point of view, not only 
of the universality of its cultivation, but also from the 
absolute amount of land, capital, and labour devoted 
to its production. Practised by the Ancients when the 
seat of civilisation was centred in Southern Europe, its 
cultivation was the leading occupation of agriculturists 
in Western Europe in Medieval times. Finally, as the 
spread of civilisation moved to the Western World, wheat 
growing accompanied it, and indeed, almost preceded it. 
For the present purposes of classifying producing 
areas, it will be best to divide the areas into two great 
subdivisions, viz., those in the Northern Hemisphere, and 
those in the Southern Hemisphere. 
(a) Northern Hemisphere.—Two great producing 
areas are distinguishable in this sphere, one situated in 
the Old World, and the other in the New World. The 
former area has been the centre of wheat cultivation for 
nearly two thousand years, and at present produces more 
than half the world’s wheat crop. Throughout the 
whole of Europe wheat growing is practised universally, 
and in most countries it is still the premier agricultural 
pursuit, despite the fact that wheat is imported in 
increasing quantities year by year. 
The area further extends into Southern Asia and 
Northern Africa, while Japan in the Far East is 
assuming a position of increasing importance as a pro- 
ducer of wheat, and the unbounded resources of the 
Steppes of Siberia, even now producing more than 150 
million bushels per annum, contain unknown possibilities 
