132 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
Argentine, and Australia, extended their production and 
their export to the English market; many pastoral 
pursuits were found to be more profitable in New 
Zealand, especially trade in frozen mutton and dairy 
produce. These factors came into operation all within 
one decade and, as events have proved, exerted a detri- 
mental effect on the progress of wheat production. 
During the ‘‘nineties’’ the industry wavered and 
showed a tendency to decline. In the first decade of 
the present century decline was marked, for then the 
full significance of the above factors was felt. How far 
the decline is to continue, and how far the industry is 
to be crippled by counteracting factors are subjects for 
study in a succeeding chapter. The history of the 
movement has been considered carefully in order that 
the lessons to be derived from experience in the past may 
furnish as much guidance as possible for forecasts of the 
future. 
