210 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
information on farm economics. But in order to illus- 
trate the nature and ability of our farmers as organisers 
a close study of general farming methods is necessary. 
Two main topics suggest themselves—first, the methods 
of cropping, including a consideration of the general 
working of the farm; and secondly, the general outlay 
of farms, including a discussion on the inter-relation of 
the different pursuits to which the farmer diverts his 
attention, pastoral, dairying, or agriculture. 
(b) Methods of Cropping. — So far as New Zealand 
is concerned, the days for the exploitation of the soil 
by continuous cropping are over. Happily, modern 
scientific farming is well in view, and even in some 
districts in actual operation. Perhaps the most import- 
ant direct influence operating to produce this result is 
the Lincoln Experimental Farm in the centre of 
the wheat growing area. The dessimation of general 
agricultural knowledge is a primary consideration in 
the work of this institution, and it would be a great and 
beneficial step were the Government to endow a similar 
institution in South Canterbury, where the farmers could 
obtain first-hand knowledge of agriculture, and witness 
the application of the methods of scientific discovery to 
the cultivation of the soil. 
Among indirect influences operating to stimulate 
‘thigh’’ farming I would mention the growing exhaustion 
of the soil at the commencement of the last period, 
1895, and more recently, the recognition of the supreme 
importance of pursuing mixed farming in New Zealand. 
But, despite these influences, many are still blind to 
the benefits which have accrued in the agricultural world 
from scientific discovery and superior methods of 
management. These indeed persist in a policy which 
in the end must prove disastrous to both farmers and 
community. As long as new soils within a reasonable 
distance of the market are at the disposal of a community, 
