The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-01-17
Indian and American Wheat.

From tie San Francisco Chronicle.
We are now enabled, from the report of
Consul General Leonard of Calcutta, to form
a reliable estimate of the wheat production of
British India in 1884, The area under cult
walton is said to be 26,000,000 acres and the
product pa, ZOO, 900 bushels, or 81 bushels to
the acre. The acreage planted to wheat in
California this year was about 4 600, 900 acres
and the product about 81, 900, 600 bushels, or
16l bushels to the acre. The total acreage
planted in wheat in the United States is about
40, 600, 900 acres and the yield this year about
10000, 900 bushels-say nearly IL bushels to
the acre. British India has thus considerably
over half as many acres in wheat as the
United States, and produces nearly one-half
as large crop. Last year the crop OF India
was reckoned at 800, 000,000 bushels.
Notwithstanding the cheapness of labor in
India and the fertility of the soil, the calcula-
ton of wheat growers in that country is that
it costs them to raise wheat and ship it to
Delhi, which, like Chicago, is the primary
market for Indian wheat, ST. 80 a cental-say
II cents pound. This is about what it costs
here-if anything,a triHe more. When, as
at present, wheat at Delhi will not realize as
much as this, the Indian farmer holds back
his crop in view of the possibility of a future
famine Delhi is nearly the same distance
from Calcutta that Chicago is from New ork.
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 cent
pound, as against quarter OF a cent. Here
is another advantage enjoyed by the Ameri-
can producer. 1t looks as if Mr.. Card was
not far wrong when he said that British In
dia could not afford to grow wheat in compe-
tition with the Northwest and California, any
more than it can afford to compete with the
Southern States in the growth of cotton.
1t is Just about ten years since British India
began to ship wheat to England. In l877-78
it shipped Il, 600, 900 bushels; in 1880-8l the
shipments were Il, 900, 600 bushels in 1881 80,
81, 900, 900 bushels, and in 1882 SO about 49,
900, 900 bushels The great decline in the
price of wheat, which began last year,
checked the business and in the first SIX
months of 1884 the shipments were only III
125,000 bushels, as against 20, 5l3, 900 bushels
in the corresponding months OF 1883. The
consumption of India is reckoned at got, 000,-
600 bushels, leaving "A ,000,0 900 bushels avail
able for export-nearly one-half England s
requirements from abroad. But it is evident
that with prime cost of Sl.33 per GENITAL at
Delhi, and freight 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 to be added to the other costs
of growing wheat, the industry will not pay.
Under the present unthrity Government of
India as a British colony expenditures are IN
Cured which promise no adequate return.
But this cannot last forever. 1t will never
pay, as commercial operation, to keep up a
system of irrigation for the purpose of raising
wheat to be sold at a cent pound, which is
likely to be the average ruling price hereafter.