36 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
reason for this is that the texture of the soil varies, the 
first part being too dense, and the second part too porous. 
In the settlement of new countries those portions 
which, by their sufficiency of water supply and their 
suitability of soil conditions, lend themselves readily 
to agriculture are first settled. This is well illustrated 
by the early settlement of Canterbury. When population 
increases and new lands must be settled, steps are taken 
by individuals for the provision of water supply; but 
in the absence of reliable information on the quality and 
texture of the soil, much of this work is in vain. What 
is necessary is a central institution to collect information 
on these matters before any further work is done. The 
Department required may be designated the Bureau of 
Soils Department, and could very well be a branch of 
the Department of Agriculture, which in many countries 
has hitherto been content to deal mainly with farm 
produce. 
‘“Where soil surveys have been made they have proved 
of immense value. The individual farmer can learn 
the relationship of the soils upon his own farm to soils 
of the same chardacter in other parts of the country. He 
can observe and study more closely the methods and 
results that have been obtained by successful farmers 
upon such soils; he can apply the experience and obser- 
vations of others to his own particular needs and 
conditions, determine the crop or crops to which his 
particular soils are best adapted, and ascertain the 
systems of crop rotation, tillage, and fertilisation caleu- 
lated to produce the maximum crops from these soils 
without impoverishing his farm.’’* 
In his 1907 Report the New Zealand Government 
Analyst outlined a plan for conducting a soil survey, 
of which I shall give a brief summary. 
The essence of the plan is the personal investigation 
of a soil survey party who shall furnish a report on each 
*Mr. Edwin Hall, in a paper read before the A. and P. 
Societies’ Conference. 
