236 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
On A, production is relatively cheap, wages for labour 
and the cost of horse-feed being remarkably low. Culti- 
vation is easy of accomplishment here, and the land is 
tilled intensively, which, together with high fertility, 
obviates the necessity of the use of manure. The yield 
of 30 bushels per acre is exceptional for this land, as it 
is not unlike the land at the Agricultural College from 
which an average yield of 45 bushels per acre is obtained. 
The low yield for this particular harvest was due to 
the detrimental effects of a very severe gale in October, 
while the crop was still only a few inches above the 
ground. ‘‘The wind swept the soil away from the roots 
of the crop,’’ and consequently, ‘‘when the heads got 
filled, the straw fell down and a great quantity of it 
was not picked up by the reaper.’’ Had it not been for 
the wind, the yield would have been 40 bushels per acre, 
according to the estimate of the farmer who produced 
it. 
Production on land C is much more costly than that 
on land A or B, according to the estimate. The high 
cost of production on land C, however, requires a few 
comments before we can draw conclusions from it. The 
cost per acre on land C is considerably lower than that 
for either of the other lands. But the great difference 
in yield per acre between lands B and C is only in part 
explained by this difference of cost per acre. 
The valuations of the land are in the ratio of 13 to 18; 
but as B has a superior situational value, this ratio does 
not measure the difference in fertility. If we allow for 
the superior situational value of B, then, according to 
estimated value of the two lands, their fertility would 
be in the ratio of about 13 to 16. But the yields per 
acre are in the ratio of 2 to 3, or 18 to 194. Now, were 
farming methods equally efficient on both lands, since 
they are situated within an area where climatic con- 
ditions are very much alike, we should expect the ratio 
