I —l 7

The large increase in 1943-44 in the area devoted to market gardens does not necessarily indicate a permanent development of market gardening. Large areas were at this period devoted to vegetable-producton to supply Allied troops in the Pacific. Apart from this, however, there was a steady development of market gardening between 1919 and 1939. The linen-flax industry was essentially a wartime development, although the recent setting-up of the Linen Flax Coporation suggests that it will be a permanent feature of New Zealand's agriculture. Tobacco-growing has become of some importance, particularly since the cessation of imports of cigarettes and tobacco. The above discussion has given some idea of the general structure of New Zealand Agriculture with a view to examining the potential absorptive capacity of that industry. Before examining the population structure, however, it is proposed to discuss briefly the effects of the mechanization of agriculture which has proceeded rapidly over the past two decades. The availability of machinery has had a very marked influence on the development •of agriculture in the Dominion. The internal-combustion engine and electricity are, as •direct influences on farming techniques, essentially developments of the period from 1920 onwards. The following table gives in summarized form the number of the various types of machines on farms from 1920 to 1942 :

Table No. 77.—Table showing Number of various Types of Machines on Farms from 1920 to 1942

This table shows in unmistakable terms the extent of the mechanization of agriculture, particularly dairy-farming. To-day over 86 per cent, of the cows in milk are milked by machines. Most of these milking-machines are driven by electricity, the number of electric motors having increased from practically nil in 1920 to approximately 66,000 to-day. There has been an equally marked increase in the number of tractors over the period. In the grain-farming districts the old-time horse-plough and reaper-and-binder are giving place to tractor-drawn ploughs and headers respectively.

58

Year. Milking-' plants Percentage of Cows in Milk Creamseparators Shearing--machines. Agricultural Rotary. Hoes and Electric Motors. InternalS combustion | Engines. MachineTractors. Card en Milked. | Plants. Stands. Tractors. 1920 8,806 51-2 26,678 5,155 17,242 324 * 13,981 1921 10,450 53-4 32,024 5,354 17,618 380 456 15,685 1922 12,468 53-4 38,861 5,468 17,788 412 778 1 57,551 1923 13,553 55-2 40,916 5,317 17,394 439 1,339 18,207 1924 14,553 57-4 42,473 5,480 17,844 512 2,587 18,864 1925 15,561 59-8 44,656 5,728 18,445 1,026 3,451 19,894 1926 16,391 62-8 45,765 5,949 18,797 2,025 6,356 19,584 1927 • 17,090 64-9 45,246 6,305 19,269 2,588 8,436 18,885 1928 18,049 66 ■ 8 45,246 6,518 19,677 2,883 10,806 18,321 1929 18,756 68-9 45,781 6,887 20,329 3,377 13,377 18,489 1930 20,415 70-7 48,302 7,394 21,482 3,891 16,456 19,169 1931 22,547 74-1 47,112 8,191 23,140 5,023 22,520 22,136 1932 23 222 73-5 51,334 7,853 22,326 4,856 24,164 20,974 1933 24^350 73-2 54,200 7,936 22,562 4,972 26,757 21,667 1934 25,178 73-7 55,625 7,894 22,482 5,062 29,164 21,758 1935 25,630 75-2 55,920 8,174 22,982 5,349 31,631 22,117 1936 26,181 76-4 56,199 8,468 23,526 5,710 35,426 22,159 1937 27,331 78-6 56,850 8,867 24,229 6,585 40,201 22,358 1938 28,192 80-9 56,543 9,680 25,685 8,031 46,100 22,573 1939 28,970 82-8 55,665 10,664 26,063 9,639 51,344 22,601 1940 29,564 84-1 55,773 10,634 27,216 11,278 56,511 23,276 1941 30,878 " 86-2 54,896 10,916 27,550 12,516 757 61,826 23,644 1942 * 31,487 86-2 54,107 11,555 28,611 13,967 813 65,699 23,882 * Not available.