20 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
harvester which ‘‘strips’’ the wheat crop and threshes 
it out immediately—the total cost for harvesting being 
about 6s. 6d. per acre, according to an estimate in the 
Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales for November, 
1914. The total cost according to the same estimate is 
about 2s. 1d. per bushel. It is because of these cheap 
methods of production that Australia is able to maintain 
her position as a producer of wheat. 
The extent of the possible area for wheat cultivation 
in Australia is shown by the following table taken from 
the Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales for June, 
1915, and is based on the following assumptions :-— 
(1) That wheat cannot be grown profitably with 
less than 10 inches of rain during the period 
of growth. 
(2) That the proportion of land suitable for, or 
available for wheat production is about one- 
fourth of the total area over which this 10-inch 
rainfall is experienced. 
(3) That the average yields per acre for the past 
10 years will be maintained. 
(4) That only four out of the six States participate 
in the expansion. 
TABLE V. 
Possible areas (in million acres) and yields (in million bushels) in 
the four principal wheat producing States of Australia :— 
(a) 
(1) (a) Average 
Area with | 455 Suit. @) yield per (5) 
over 10 ins. “702 Area acre for | Annual 
BEATE: rain in | ble for | available | last10 | Possible 
growing mowing for grain 155080 Production 
Acres Acres Acres Bushels Bushels 
New South Wales} 105 26 91 11°61 243 
Victoria ae 48 12 10 11°55 110 
South Australia... 30 8 6 10-19 61 
West Australia ... 60 15 12 10°77 129 
Total wt 258 | 61 50 11:21 543 
In this table column (2) is taken as 25 per cent. of 
column (1) on account of waste land and poor soil 
within the 10-inch isohyet, while column (3) giving the 
