216 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
answer the questions we have raised. The marginal rate 
of profit from agriculture will tend to be equal to the 
marginal rate of profit in pastoral farming, and accord- 
ing to the degree in which this tendency is realised so 
will the total profits from mixed farming approach a 
maximum. It is because the marginal rates of profits 
from the two occupations are relatively higher when 
they are carried on in conjunction, that mixed farming 
is tending to become the predominant feature of rural 
industries in those districts where formerly purely 
agricultural pursuits were in existence. 
