114 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
exploitation of the resources of a country in the early 
stages of its industrial development is common indeed; 
it marks a certain stage in the industrial history of every 
new country. ‘‘When new land is first taken into culti- 
vation, the necessity of restoration is not felt. The 
store of elements of fertility is then large and may 
maintain itself, notwithstanding continuous drains for 
years and even for a generation. If there is plenty of 
new land another parcel can be taken under cultivation 
when signs of exhaustion appear in that first used, and 
so on, as long as new land is available. This is what 
the Germans call ‘Raub-bau’—predatory cultivation.’’* 
This predatory cultivation was the outstanding feature 
of the organisation of wheat production during the 
“‘eighties.’’ The land was not ‘‘farmed’’ as we understand 
the word in these days, but was ‘‘cropped’’ ruthlessly 
with little or no thought for the future of agriculture 
in the country. The system of contracting which was 
in operation to a large extent encouraged this, for an 
individual who leased land for short periods was not 
greatly concerned with the future productivity of that 
land. The operation of these forces then—the system of 
large estates, extensive farming, and successive cropping, 
—brought about the result which was inevitable in such 
circumstances. The natural fertility of the soil was 
quickly diminished, and the low returns from wheat 
growing began to attract attention. At the same time, as 
will be shown in the next chapter, wheat prices had fallen 
greatly, and by the early ‘‘nineties’’ it was evident that 
greater attention to the culture of the soil was necessary 
if the industry was to be continued successfully. The 
decade 1890-9 is, then, a transition period in which the. 
breaking up of the large estates introduced a change 
from extensive to intensive farming, while the system 
of predatory cultivation was gradually superseded by 
the more enlightened practice of ‘‘high farming’’ now 
*Taussic, ‘‘Principles of Heonomics.’’ Vol. II., page 66. 
