GENERAL CONDITIONS IN NEW ZEALAND 39 
Btates,, Coriseq: ently when the application of certain 
Jmanures to SuF soils is advocated, it must not be thought 
that this ig x ly on account of a diminished fertility. 
~On the othe hand, by the employment of incremental 
~ additfon® apital, (manure in this specific case) the 
yt get higher proportional returns up to a 
oint. Hence, in addition to manuring the root 
crops preceding wheat, it has become the practice in 
many parts to manure the wheat crop also. This 
practice, however, should not have a very detrimental 
effect on wheat growing in New Zealand, for, in the 
first place, ‘‘it is now certain that wheat nearly always 
responds to phosphatic manures,’’* and, secondly, certain 
manures are easily obtainable in New Zealand on account 
of the freezing industry. We shall see later in analysing 
costs of production what proportion is attributable to 
manures. 
4. Climatic Conditions. 
A detailed analysis of climatic conditions is of 
paramount importance in any investigation relating to 
agriculture, for no one will dispute the fact that there 
is a connection between productivity and meteorological 
conditions, though the degree of this relationship is not 
yet exactly established. The climate of New Zealand 
has to be considered in relation to three main features :— 
(1) Its position, stretching for nearly a thousand 
miles southward of latitude 34° south. 
(2) Its insular position, situated in the greatest 
ocean of the World, from which no part of 
the country is more than 75 miles distant. 
(8) Its physical features, especially the mountain 
chains,-running mostly north and south, and 
affording differential aspects. 
From a survey of these it is obvious that New Zealand 
can rank with any of the great wheat producing countries 
of the World so far as favourable weather conditions 
are concerned. 
*Dr. Hilgendorf, in ‘‘The New Zealand Journal of Agri- 
culture,’’ March, 1915. 
