THE PRICE OF WHEAT 179 
relative ranges and frequency of the fluctuations in each 
case. Throughout these are both more frequent and more 
severe in New Zealand prices than in English prices. 
Earlier in this chapter reference was made to this aspect 
of the subject, and it was demonstrated that England’s 
sources of supply were so great and so varying in con- 
ditions of production, that in normal times supply was 
fairly constant. The comparison between New Zealand 
and English prices further confirms this conclusion. It 
is true that English wheat exhibited great fluctuations in 
price in the earlier years of our period, but these can 
be explained by a variety of circumstances which already 
have been indicated, and attention may be drawn to the 
fact that the Corn Laws were repealed so recently before 
the commencement of the period of our study as 1846. 
This sudden opening up of English markets to foreign 
wheat, while it gave a great stimulus to progress in 
foreign fields, could not hope to develop them on a 
sufficiently large scale to render supplies constant. 
Consequently, a bad harvest in the United States or 
Russia would at once be reflected in a rise in the price 
of wheat in England. Since 1880 the English price 
curve, however, is free from great fluctuations, though 
changes of minor importance are not infrequent. The 
same cannot be said of the New Zealand price curve, 
which exhibits at frequent intervals violent fluctuations 
throughout almost its whole course. It must be noted, 
however, that during the ‘‘eighties’’ the extent of the 
fluctuations diminish, but their frequency does not. An 
explanation at once suggests itself. Wheat production 
was at its zenith during the ‘‘eighties,’’ but has recently 
declined, the area under wheat showing a strong decrease. 
Of recent years the fluctuations in price have increased 
in severity, and consequently the conclusion can be 
drawn that price fluctuation is greater when the area 
of production is decreased. 
