1903
4 ,400
. .1904
2 , 670
. .1905
5 ,000
. .1906
6 ,000
. .190 7
5 ,
lOO . .1908
5 ,000
. .1909
10 ,000
. .19 10
9 ,000
. .19 1 1
10 ,000
. .19 12
10 , 000
. .19 1 3
1 1 ,000
. .19 14
9 , 700
. .19 15
7 ,000
. .19 16
7 ,600
. .19 1 7
5 ,050
69 ' 86 1
19 1 8
5 , 000
86 ' 80 7
19 19
4 ,000
102 , 0 10
1920
5 , 341
142 , 252
Sources : a 1903-16
McCaski l l( 1929 , 92)
1 9 1 7-20
NZOYB( 1919 ).,
NZOYB( 192 1-22) ,
NZOYB
( 1924)
under en try' Bui lding and Ornament a l S tone ' . Although d ata in pub lished sources are absen t , the to tal p roduction to March
19 16
is given as102 , 4 72
tons (NZOYB ,19 1 7 , 5 25) .
Thi s figure matchesMcCaskill ' s above to tal o f
102 , 4 70
tons very close ly .b
Data not avai lab le prior to19 1 7 .
TheA s econd depos i t wa s l ocated a t Mi l burn a t a bou t the same time bu t i t proved much l es s producti ve . I ts output was a bout 6 , 000 tons of roc k over the 1 902- 1 9 26 period
(
McCa s k i l l , 1 9 29 , 69 , 9 2 ) .Further offers of bonu ses for the d i scovery of deposi ts even i n New Zea l and and i n i ts Pac i fi c terri tori e s produced no resul ts by 1 9 1 7 a nd so , dome s t i c production of rock phospha te rema i ned sma l l . I t wa s i mportant onl y earl y thi s cen tury when i mports were reduced . Pro duc ti on never amounted to more than l l , 000 tons i n any one yea r , a t a t i me when 1 00 , 000 tons of rock phos pha te were i mpo rted an�ua l l y q u i te ofte n . Imported p hosphates were the ba s i s of the New Zea l a nd ferti l i zer
i nd u s try . The percentage of phosphate s i mpor ted
(
Ta bl e 4 . 7 ) i nd i ca te s tha t thi s defi c i ency wa s regarded a s t h e pri ma ry probl em t o b e overcome i n soi l amendi
ng .Evi dence of the l i n k wi th Bri ti s h soi l -amendi ng technol ogy a nd of i ts i mportance i s found i n the i n troduction i n to New Zeal and of bas i c s l a g . The u s e of thi s so i l amendment s temmed from the Bri ti sh research noted earl i er . Wi th i n a decade of the founda ti on of Cockl e Park
ex peri ments , bas i c s l ag became so wi de l y rega rded i n New Zea l and tha t : Expa ns i on- i n ferti l i z er usage i n the decade prior to
1 9 1 4 wa s based l argely on i mpor ted bas i c s l ag .
(
Evans , 1 96 9 , 201 )The grea ter s u perphosphate i mports ma ke thi s poi nt arguabl e , but ba s i c s l ag was the mater i a l u s ed i n the 1 904 topd ress i ng tri a l s a t Rua kura , fol l owi ng wh i c h , i ts u s e was recommended i n the Wa i kato . From the re the techni q ue s prea d . The notabl e i ncrease i n i mports from 5 , 01 3 tons to 30 , 350 tons between 1 909- 1 0 and 1 91 3- 1 4 substanti a te thi s g rowi ng usage
(
Tab l e 4 . 7 ) .The u se of bas i c s l ag presented two p robl ems when Wor l d War I began . As the open -hearth s teelma k i ng process had l argely rep l aced
the Bes semer proces s and d i d not crea te as s u i tabl e a s l ag , the q u a l i ty of the ma teri a l decl i ned
(
Mi l l er , 1 947 , 31 ) . Suppl i es from European sources , France and Germa ny , were e i ther di s rupted by warfare or hel d back by a hos t i l e nati o n . What s h i p pi ng coul d be schedul ed wasd i verted from carryi ng s u c h a cargo . Accordi ngly , ava i l abi l i ty
d ropped s harply after 1 9 1 6 on to the po i nt tha t none was i mported i n 1 9 1 8- 1 9
(
Tabl e 4 . 7 ) .Other type s of i mported phosphate s , Ephos , the u n trea ted roc k pho s phate bac kl oaded from Egyp t on troop s h i p s , and superphosphate were s u b s ti tuted unti l res tr i c ted supp l y a l so affec ted them after 1 9 1 7 - 1 8 ( Ta b l e 4 . 7 ) . I t i s thought that the i nabi l i ty to use ba s i c s l ag p romo ted the u s e of s uperphosphate ( Sma l l fi e l d , 1 970, 47 ) though the da ta i n Ta b l e 4 . 7 s how i ts earl i er popu l ari ty . I t came to be
rea l i zed through thi s experi ence tha t superphosphate wa s genera l l y ' the most effecti v e type o f phosphati c top -dres s i ng manure ' ( Ho l ford , 1 936 , 1 69 ) . I t wi l l be shown that a l thoug h the i mportati on of bas i c sl a g d i d recover , l ocal producti on of s upe rphosphate became i ncrea s i ngly i mpo rtant in the l a ter 1 920s . The i nnovati on-deci s i o n proces s for
the farmer con ti nued despi te some supply- enforced di fference i n ' the types of ferti l i zer a va i l abl e . The u s e of bas i c s l ag pers i s ted eve n though i ts pri ce rose a bove tha t of s uperphospha te , a fe rti l i zer fou nd at l ea s t as effec ti v e ( Hol ford , 1 9 36 , 1 71 ) .
The supp l y of i mpor ted superphos phates grew from thei r i n tro ducti on i n 1 880 to the end of the per i od . The source of supply d i d change wi th Bri ta i n becomi ng l es s i mportant a s the i ndustry· devel oped i n nearer producti on coun tri es . Au s tral i a began superphospha te
export i n 1 883 and became the ma i n source of New Zea l and ' s i mpo rts .
By 1 9 1 8 the q u a nti ty i mported from tha t source exceeded 34 , 000 tons . Japan , wh i ch had entered the New Zea l a nd market i n 1 903 , became the second mos t i mportant suppl i er dur i ng Worl d War I wi th the res tr i cti on of Bri ti sh suppl i es ( McCaski l l , 1 9 29 , 42 ) .
Rock phospha te had been imported s i nce 1 868 from a vari e ty of sources . The q uanti ti es i mported , though not great unti l the l a te 1 870s , were i nd i cative of a ri s i ng a va i l abi l i ty . The growth of Bri ti s h a nd Austra l i an i n tere s t i n rock phosphate fol l owi ng i ts u s e i n s uper phosphate p rod ucti on i n the l ate 1 850s l ed to a n exp l orati on of many po tenti al sources i n the I nd i an and Paci fi c Oceans ( outl i ned i n McCaski l l , 1 929 , 28-33 ) . New Zea l and benefi ted from thi s i n
s u pp l ementi ng l i mi ted l oca l sources . The worki ng of the Ocean I s l and deposi ts by 1 900 , and of those on Nau ru after 1 907 crea ted a s teady s upply of roc k ( El l i s , 1 935 , �06 , J 39 l .
L i me Producti on
Of g reat i mportance to soi l amendi ng i n New Zeal a nd wa s the l oca l avai l ab i l i ty of agri cul tu ra l l i me . Use of l i me i s recorded a s a
l ong - s tandi ng practi ce ( Hargreaves , 1 966 , 267- 268 ) but i t was on l y i n 1 880 that the Mi l burn L i me a nd Cement Co . , a l arge-sca l e p roduc e r , wa s e s tabl i s hed i n South l and ( Ki ng , 1 9 58 , 1 1 5 ) and began to p rov i de burnt l i me to l oca l farmers for use on the heavy Southl and soi l s . I t i s s uggested tha t l oca l Sco tti s h farmers may have been somewhat
fami l i a r wi th the practi ce as i t had been carr i ed out i n a rea s such �s Pe rths hi re ( Evans , 1 969 , 5) but i t i s not thought that they i n i ti a ted
the p ra cti ce • s w
�
de spread u s e .Ex tensi ve l i mi ng was tri ed i n 1 890 for agri cul tura l purposes a s a mea ns o f overcomi ng decl i ni ng produ cti on a decade a fter the s e ttl i ng of d a i ry farmers on the Edenda l e Es ta te of the New Zea l and and
Aus tra l i a n Land Company . M i l k supply had to be ma i n ta i ned to ma ke i ts cheese factor
y
a profi tabl e venture ( Saxby , 1 950a , 1 39 ; Ki ng , 1 947b , 567 ) . Hav i n g undertaken the l i mi ng tri a l s , the company encouraged farmers to ado p t the prac t i ce by s upp l y i ng l i me free or to the va l ue of a farmers • re nt ( Ki ng , 1 94 7 b , 567 ) . There wa s a restri cti on i nthe avai l abi l i ty to farmers through the h i gh cos t of shi pment by ra i l , hence , area s of u ti l i za t i on were l oca ted near the sources of p roduc ti on ( Evans , 1 969 , 5 ) . The ex ten s i on of the ra i l network ( Map 4 . 1 ) a s s ume s fu rther i mportance i n expl a i n i ng the d i ffu s i on of th i s so i l - ame nd i ng practi ce . The concentra ti on of l i me p l a n ts i n Auckl and a nd Otago
( Tabl e 4 . 3 ) wou l d sugges t these were the source area s . However , the s e p l a n ts d i d n o t neces sari l y p roduce agri cu l tural l i me . The i r i ncl u s i on i n Tabl e 4 . 3 only serves to demons tra te pos s i bl e sou rces of s u pp l y .
Tha t government recogni zed the n eed to broaden the u s e of l i me when i n 1 894 i t u ndertook to subs i d i ze the ra i l fre i ght c harges of l i me a n d • an i mal man ures [organi c ferti l i zers] • ( no ted i n
PD�
1 894 , 587- 588 ) . However , i n the South I s l and the Mi l burn L i me and Cement Company ,beca u se of i ts v i rtual monopo l y , p ro ceeded to i ncrease i ts p r i ce by the amount of the s u bs i dy ( menti oned i n
PD3
1 895 , 388 a ndPD3
1 898a , 1 7 ) . Farmers were not yet rece i v i ng fu l l benefi t from t he subs i dy . I t was o n l y i n 1 898 that .the dec i s i on wa s made to ful l y subs i d i ze ra i l c ha rges o n l oads of more than 6 ton s for a d i s ta nce to l OO mi l es ( Sma l l fi el d , 1 9 50 , 82 ) . However , a s i mi l ar reducti on for ferti l i zers was rej ected(PD�
1 898b , 568 ) despi te the d i scovery of the benefi c i a l a s s oc i a ti on of applyi ng s uperpho s p h a te together wi th l i me . Nonethel e s s , thi s a ssoc i a ti on encouraged the use of l i mi n g a s the u s e of topdre s s i ng s pread i n the 1 900s ( Tod d , 1 950 , 323 ) . Soi l s used for farmi ng cropswer e those usua l l y trea ted ( Saxby , l 9 50a , 1 39 ) a s wa s the case wi th chemi cal fe rti l i ze rs .
The number and the d i s tri bu ti on of l i me-proce s s i ng pl a n ts ( Ta bl e 4 . 3 ) i nd i ca tes that po tenti al p roducti on wa s fai rly w i desp rea d but there i s a l ack!of i nformation on the quanti ty of agri c u l tura l l i me unti l 1 9 1 7 . Compared to p hosphate produc ti on , l i me q uarryi n g was
muc h . more i mporta nt and conti nued to expand i ts output to 1 920 when over 1 42 , 200 ton s were produced . Th i s q ua nti ty exceeded ferti l i zer i mp orts by 50 percent .
The ra i l way subs i dy wa s ma i nt a i ned through to 1 947 and , therefore , provi ded a s tabl e el ement i n the produ cti on envi ronment . Wi th the
Department of Agr i cul ture ' s i ncrea sed i nteres t i n the u s e of l ime i n I
the Worl d War I peri od i t i s not s urpri s i ng to see that an i mportant acreage wa s a l rea dy bei ng trea ted by the l a te 1 9 20s when s ta t i s t i c s became ava i l ab l e .
SUMMARY
I n the peri od from col oni za ti on to the ea rly 1 9 20s agri cul tura l producti on i n a new envi ronment wa s establ i s hed . From subs i s tence fa rms and s heep runs grew a n anima l -products i nd ustry of maj or
i mportance to the cou ntry . The envi ronment was expl ored a nd expl o i ted i n order to ma k� profi ts for i nd i v i dual s . The range of European
( pr i mari l y Bri ti s h ) , Aus tral i an , a nd North Ameri can farmi ng experi ence wa s open to the settl ers of the 1 860s . The i n i ti a l , succe s sful
i m� tation of en terpri ses ba sed on th i s experi ence constra i ned agri c u l tura l deve l opment a nd a l l owed an equi l i bri um to be reached . I t wa s s hort- l i ved . Refri gera ted mari ne transport i n troduced ten s i on . I t became poss i b l e to escape from a l ong peri od of depressed woo l pri ces by enteri ng i nto more s pec i al i zed farmi ng enterpri ses ( Su tc h , 1 9 66 , C hapters 4- 6 ; S u tch , l 968d ) . The focus on g ra s s l and farm i ng d i verted a ttenti on away from other economi c sectors ( Su tch , l 968a , 1 82 ) .
Arabl e cropp i ng had been a n a l terna ti ve to wool producti on b u t i t too wa s di spl aced i n the per i od of cha ng e . Wool a nd gra i n produc tion had genera ted a concern for soi l -ferti l i ty decl i ne , but me thod s to comba t i t were not emp l oyed .
The p os s i bi l i ty of s hi ppi ng meat and da i ry products s u b s tanti a l l y mod i fi ed pa s toral p rodu c tion . I t l ed .to the domi nance o f t h e sma l l fami l y-farm s tructure and to ra tes of s tocki ng at an i ntensi ty wh i c h
wou l d i mprove soi l ferti l i ty once suff i c i ently hi g h -yi el di ng pas tures cou l d be esta bl i s hed . Atte nt i on was d i rec ted on the p roduction
capa b i l i ty of grassl ands a s opposed to the more tradi ti onal concern wi th crop yi el d s . Thi s trans i ti on took pl ace through the concern wi th i mprov i ng suppl emen ta ry fodder crop s . These crops were essen t i a l to