124 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
various other industries as having an effect on the course 
of wheat production. First it was the tendency to sheep 
farming during early colonisation in the ‘‘fifties’’ and 
“‘sixties’’ which retarded progress in the cultivation of 
the cereal, though no doubt the position in many cases 
was that the land would have been idle if pasture had 
not been profitable. The prospects for this industry 
were good at the outset, especially from the point of 
view of the market, and as early as 1858 the export 
had reached 3,810,373 lbs. During the ‘‘sixties’’ rapid 
progress was made, and in 1870 the exports totalled 
37,039,763 lbs. Prices were exceedingly good until 
1878, when a slight fall occurred, falling more rapidly 
in the ‘‘eighties,’? as did the prices of almost all 
commodities. 
During the period 1870-90 sheep farming did not 
have such a restrictive influence on wheat growing as 
previously, and during the ‘‘seventies’’ progress was 
relatively greater in the latter industry than in the 
former. This was largely due to the fact that, except 
for the supply of wool which sheep afforded, and 
their possible use as manure, they were of little value, 
and consequently of the two pursuits wheat growing was 
the more profitable and prosperous. 
With the success of the refrigerating process in 1882 
the situation became somewhat changed. Although the 
frozen meat industry was an established fact in the 
early ‘‘eighties,’’ it is of course not surprising that 
for nearly a decade its influence was not marked. The 
new industry was of such a character that it required 
considerable capital, machinery, and skilled labour and 
managers. Moreover, sheep runs were already over- 
stocked with sheep and there was an ample supply for 
the small demand from the industry. It is noteworthy 
that almost a decade passed before sufficient capital had 
been transferred to the industry to render its influence 
