30 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
Cuaprter ITT. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS IN NEW ZEALAND. 
Throughout the preceding chapters of this work great 
prominence has been given to the fact that various parts 
of New Zealand are speciaMy adapted for the production 
of wheat. We shall here consider these qualifications 
in comparison with those of other producing countries. 
1. Suitability for Wheat Production. 
“The Dominion of New Zealand is a country specially 
favoured for primary production. The soil covering 
is varied in character, a considerable portion of it being 
of exceptional fertility, and even the poorer soils are 
often capable of profitable utilization by reason of the 
comparatively mild and equable weather conditions.’’* 
(a) The North Island—-This Island is remarkable 
for the congenial environment it furnishes for many 
phases of production. The fertile province of Hawke’s 
Bay provides, perhaps, the best sheep grazing country 
in the world, while many parts of the West Coast 
furnish ideal pastures for dairy cattle. Although the 
Island possesses many natural qualifications for wheat 
production, as we shall see when considering soil and 
climatic conditions, attention has been diverted into the 
more profitable pursuits of dairying and sheep farming, 
furnishing a remarkable example of the tendency, 
established by the theory of International Trade, of 
countries to specialise in that for which they are most 
advantageously adapted. 
(6) South Island.—The South Island was the portion 
of New Zealand where agriculture was first established 
to any considerable extent, settlement here being greatly 
facilitated by the presence of large fertile plains, and 
rolling downs and hills devoid of forests and other 
*New Zealand Official Year Book (1914) p. 569. 
