THIRTY years ago "Vulcan Downs" was a typical North Canterbury grazing run, well managed judged by the standards of that time, but in no way different from. many other similar properties. Today "Vulcan Downs" is still a North Canterbury grazing run, but it is far from typical. It now enjoys a reputation of prosperity and its enviable record has been achieved solely through the unremitting efforts of its owner, Mr. Eric Gardiner. The story of some grazing runs is often a depressing one, a story of steady retrogression and ever-diminishing returns. What the ultimate fate of much of this country will be who can tell? Years of overstocking and injudicious management have left a mark which can never be erased, and the possibility that valuable country will be abandoned -to scrub and second growth is a very real one. In the light of this dismal prospect the account of the development of "Vulcan Downs" holds an even greater appeal.
