HISTORY OF WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 109 
vation of the soil. And this point is of paramount 
importance if we are to comprehend clearly the relation 
of wheat growing to sheep farming. The interaction 
of sheep farming on wheat growing has undoubtedly 
operated to increase the yield of wheat, while the culti- 
vation of the soil for wheat has produced the excellent 
pastures on which ‘‘Prime Canterbury’’ is fattened. 
5. Cultivation and the Yield. 
So important is the operation of mixed farming in the 
wheat producing world that it is necessary to consider the 
subject in further detail. During the ‘‘eighties’’ large 
scale production was the characteristic feature of wheat 
growing. Twenty years later our most important pro- 
ducers are comparatively small farmers whose activities 
are spread over both agricultural and pastoral pursuits. 
What factors have been responsible for this change, and 
why does the latter type afford the greatest advantage 
to the producer? Some of these factors have been 
mentioned above. The disadvantages of production on 
a large scale in agriculture, the economic depression of 
the ‘‘eighties,’’ and the operation of the Graduated Land 
Tax were the predominant causes of the change. But 
the methods of farming the land under the system of 
large scale production were also greatly responsible for 
the decline of that system. While there was little change 
in the amount of land used for growing wheat during 
the decade 1881-90, both the technique and structure 
of agriculture were changing considerably. This is 
discernible in the movement in yield per acre throughout 
the period, and a study of graphs showing yield per acre 
and acreage in wheat is fruitful on the point. The 
general trend of yield per acre was upward at first, and 
then for two decades after 1873 it fell steadily until 
1895 when it again began to rise, and it has shown a 
rising tendency since that date. Movements in the 
