This thesis is an economic investigation into the effects of the adoption of scientific methods in malting barley production in Canterbury. Having seen these methods applied, and having observed the successful results obtained by their adoption, it occurred to me that much valuable information would be forthcoming if a detailed economic analysis were conducted on this work. A mass of complicated data was placed at my disposal by the Canterbury (N.Z.) Seed Co. Ltd., concerning the yields and quality of malting barley crops produced by scientific methods. An attempt has been made to verify the results obtained from an investigation of the above data, by information gathered from different sources. It has been my intention to bring to light the possibilities of increasing the productivity per acre, with lower costs of production per bushel, by applying scientific methods to malting barley production. These methods have been widely applied for several years, and the following pages are an account of what has actually been done, and not what may be done. Finally, a word may be said on the limitation of the scope of this thesis. It is strictly an inquiry on a particular phase of cereal production. How far like results can be achieved by the application of similar scientific methods in the production of other cereals, the immediate future alone will indicate.