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Ham and bacon curing also increased, reflecting really an increase in the keeping'of pigs as a subsidiary line in the dairying industry. The major expansion of those engaged in butter, cheese, and condensed-milk manufacturing is merely an indication of the increasing importance of dairying during the period. The increases in the grain milling and grain crushing industry are probably merely related to increases in population. Flour is a basic item and is required in amounts proportionate to the size of the population. In the contracting industries the major feature is the fall of tanning, fellmongery, and woolscouring, which is largely, but not wholly, due to changes in farming techniques, and perhaps to the relatively less importance of horse transport. The heading " Sawmilling and Sash and Door Making " covers principally sawmilling, the numbers engaged in sash and door making being relatively small. Detailed figures for the years between 1921 and 1931 show that over the most of that period the number employed in the industry has steadily declined. The building trade, was buoyant in the early years of the decade, but, as is well known, this industry was among the first to feel the effects of the trade recessions in the later years of the decade. The capital construction industries are always among the first to feel the effects of an economic decline. The effects of the depression in taking men away from that type of work have been very serious because, as shown in another part of this report, the tendency once such people had left the industry was for them to remain away. An outstanding case of a contracting industry was the flaxmilling (phormium), which fell very seriously as between 1901 and 1921. This is probably a result of competition internationally in other fibres. The figure of 177 in 1930-31 is abnormallylow, and is definitely the result of the depression. (2) The Period from 1929 to 1944 Turning next to the second period, between 1929-30 and the present day, the following table gives a classification of the semi-primary industries, differentiating between stable, contracting, and expanding industries :

Table No. 97. —Table showing Employees engaged in Semi-primary Manufacturing Industries, 1929-30, 1937-38, 1942-43, and 1943-44

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1 1929-30. 1 1937-38. 1942-43. 1943-44. (1) Stable Industries Vegetable food — Grain-milling.. .. .. .. 731 767 765 756 . Vegetable products for fodder — Grain-crushing .. .. .. 88 69 79 76 (2) Expanding Industries Animal food— Meat freezing and preserving 6,139 7,835 10,137 10,186 ' Ham and bacon curing 396 521 576 710 Fish curing and preserving 78 113 128 143 Harness* saddlery, and leatherware— Tanning 449 497 869 949 Animal matters (not elsewhere included) — Fellmongering and woolscouring 390 379 664 607 Working in wood — Sawmilling, sash and door making 7,381 8,364 7,574 7,806 (3) Contracting Industries Animal food— Butter, cheese, and condensed-milk manufacture .. 4,228 4,128 3,983 3,900 Fibrous materials— Flaxmilling (phormium) 903 537 256 " 377