LEADING FEATURES OF THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 183 
CHapter VIII. 
LEADING FEATURES OF THE WHEAT 
INDUSTRY IN THE LAST PERIOD (1895-1914). 
1. Retrospect. 
In Chapter VI the course of the organisation of wheat 
production in New Zealand since the period of early 
colonization was traced with a definite end in view. The 
gradual merging of one system of production into 
another was treated in more or less detail, until the 
closing years of last century, when the initial stages of 
our present systems of production were definitely shaped. 
Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the wheat 
industry during the latter half of the century was 
the large scale production of the ‘‘eighties.’’ The 
interesting and suggestive nature of this period in the 
development of our wheat industry has been sufficiently 
discussed, but it may be well to refer again to the 
connection between this period and the preceding one. 
This connection is not difficult to trace. ‘‘Bonanza’’ 
farming was at length discovered to be relatively un- 
profitable on account of the many serious obstacles which 
it encountered.* The operation of the law of decreasing 
*See above Chapter VI., page 102. 
