Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1885-01-16
Indian and American wheat

we are nav enablcd, from tDe report OF
Consul General Leonard OF Calcutta, to
| form a reliable esIim ate Of the whesi pro-
ductiou of British India 10 1884 The
are. under cultivation is said tn be a6,-
0oo, 900 acres and the product ga, ooo. 600
busnels, or o. bushels to the acre. The
screxge planted Ia wneaI IN Csiinnrnia
,hi. year was about o00. 900 acres and
the product about $1,000. 900 bushes, or
l6. bushels Ia the acre. The total acre
age planted to wheat in the United States
is about 1000. 900 of acres and the yield
this y.sr about $4,000, 900 bushels-,ay
nearly 10 bushes 70 the acre. British In
dia has thus considerably over half as
many acres in ~hea. as the United States,
and produces nearly one hsf as large a
crop. Last year the crop in India was
rsckoned at 900, 00o. 900 bushels.
Notwithstanding the cheapaess Of labor
in India and the fertility Of the sol. the
calculation OF wheat growers in tina, coun-
try is that il costs them 10 raise wheat and
ship it 10 Delhi. which. like Chicago, is
the primary market for Indian wheat,
fl.33 8 centai-ssy II cents 4. pound
thing, trifs more. When. as at present.
wheat at Delhi will not realize as much a.
this, the Indian farmer holds back his
crop in view Of the possibility OF . iu ure
famine. Delhi is nearly the same distance
from Calcutta that Chicago is from New
York. But the freight from Delhi is "a
cents per GENITAL, as against 25 cents. which
is the freight from Chicago to New York
a third Of a cent a pound as against
quarter of a cent. Here is another advan-
tage enjoyed 10y the American producer
1t looks as if Mr. Card was not So far
wrong when he said that British India
could not afford to grow wheat in compe-
tition with the Northwest and Ca iiornia,
any more than it can afford to compete
with the Sou horn s ates in the growth of
cotton.
1t is just about ten years since British
India began TO ship wheat to England.
In 1s777s it shipped 100000 bushels ;
in 1sSOSl the shipments were $4,000, 900
bushels; in 1881 SO, $1,000, 900 bushels.
and in 1882 SO about $4,000. 900 bushels
The great decline in the price OF wheat,
which began last year, checked the bust
ness and in the first six mo tbs of 1884
the shipments were only II, 1875, 900 bush
els, as against 20,513, 900 bushels in the
corresponding months of 1888. The con-
sumption of India is reckoned at 200, OO0,-
900 bushels, leaving 100000 bushels
available for export one half Eng
lands requirement from abroad. But it
is evident that with prime cost Of 81 80
per GENITAL at D~lhi, and freigh Of 81 cents
from that point to the seaboard. India
cannot compete with Chicago or San
Francisco.
Wheat growing in India depends in
some parts on the monsoon rains. in Others
upon irrigation. We know in this State
that with anything like present prices. if
the cost of irrigation has got to he added
to the othsr costs of growing wheat, tho
industry will not pay Under The present
unthrifty Government Of India as IA British
colony expenditures ARE incurred which
promise no adequate return. But this
cannot last forever. 1t VII never pay, rs
a commercial operation, to keep up a
system of irrigation for the purpose of
raising wheat to lie sold at a cent pound
VIII oh is likely to be the average ruling
price hereafter SIN Francisco Chronicle