298 WHEAT PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND 
of actual production in the near future. There is every 
reason to suppose that wheat production will be a profit- 
able pursuit for many years. But there has been a 
serious reaction in the farming community against the 
pursuit, and this may prove embarrassing; and the 
people would be well advised to proceed upon a more 
sound understanding in dealing with the problem. 
Certainly it would seem that the farmers in Canterbury 
will find it to their interests to continue the practice of 
mixed farming, and thus to grow small quantities of 
wheat. A rising market will bring its own reward. 
Should shortage occur again, the Government will have 
more reliable information than during the recent ‘‘ wheat 
crisis,’’ and will doubtless have supplies from abroad 
under consideration. It is considered by some that it 
would be a wise policy to import our supplies of wheat 
and thus to obviate the controversies and difficulties 
which the wheat question gives rise to. If, however, the 
Government attempts to encourage the industry on the 
general lines indicated above, and to convince the rural 
community and the people generally of the extreme 
importance of wheat production to the Dominion, then 
the future, both immediate and ultimate, should be no 
cause for anxiety. The War, however destructive it 
seems, will benefit New Zealand materially in so far as 
it raises the price of primary produce, and perhaps most 
of all the wheat industry, in the output of which a 
general world-wide shortage is anticipated. If our 
investigation does nothing more than allay apprehension 
regarding the present apparently decadent state of the 
industry, a useful function will be performed. A young 
country, with abundant natural resources, an excellent 
climate, a rich fertile soil, a vigorous and energetic 
population, and last, and most important of all, a 
comparatively highly educated and well governed 
democracy, may look towards the future with serenity, 
and the expectation of increasing prosperity. 
