Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-06-19
Wheat In India.

Wheat in India. s-. 5s
~ The tlaes,ios, in how far the supply Of
sIndssBW heat on The European market
is. able To compete with Americas grains,
is OF great importance TO the agricultural
ist as well as to the miller Of this c,un-
try Bradstreets' say ii a review ot. the
evidences which has been collected
suggests ,Ile conclusion that it il as yet
too;carly.to pronounce as 10 the future
relative rank of India as Il wheat lproduc-
.er,,sish is u be borne IN mind that there
are: IS set no comple,e agricultural
stapisiics for India, and that such figures
;as are forthcoming are based for the most
part OIL official estimates. According 70
an estimate IecenilY made blythe Ind ian
ssoyernm IS ent, as the result Of AN jnyestl-
gggst alll lertske ken ss the req usS,; Of the
Ilolaaaasss lae area 10 4,xhest
,il. itisha Iatlsa. III III l.iiau
acres, and that M native territory isabout
six million aereg,S md tie total iyield
is shout S22o. million bushels yeariy:
India was. able to export. III 1881 .S2 over
thirty seven million bushels, of which
nearly one half went5to Great Britain.
Tie exports Of wheat. howe ever. fell off
about one fourth in the year 18Sa.83. Il.
The question Of: most interest Is the
important one to what extent Il Tint
production and the consequent export Il
likely TO be increased BY the extension
5of railways and by iinprovenae ii Is lib
cultivation, Upon this question no very
confident conclusion appears u be
entertained by those regarded as best
vualified TO express ali. opinion. Sir
James Card in giving testimony before
a recent sitting Of the parliamentary
railway committee said, that while he
looked to general increase of great
many Indian products as the result of
railway extension, yet that in his opinion,
the population Of India was increasing
SO rapidly that in two years it would
require the whole quantity Of wheat now
exported, unless there was a much larger
production than at present. He thought
that the signal progress which had been
made in the export Of wheat during the
last two years was owing to the excep-
tlonal seasons which had occurred since
the last famine. Whether any great
increase was to be expected from:
improved agriculture in India was, he
said, q question the solution ot which
depended on the price&of wheat and the
tenn mptatlon offered TO cultivate it. In
many parts Of Iudia where the land was
good and there was a command of water,
there would be an increase. but the
cultivation would not be greatly extended
. unless the price became ~remuncratiye.s s9a
Il is. evident from recent indications,
that this question is not to be left ii the
ha.y region Of expert conjecture, but:
that, on the contrary, every effort will be
made to bring it to practical test. The
Indian governments are addressing
themselves to the investigation with
energy. Commercial bodies are also
seeking to secure the adoption Of meas,
ures intended to improve the quality of
Indian wheat by inducing more careful
cultivation. Tie Bombay chamber Of
commerce has suggested the giving of
prizes for the best tarmed fields, and the
dissemination among the peasantry of
the'knowledge of the advantages to he
derived by cultivators from reaping un.
mixed grains. The Bombay government
acting upon these suggestions, has
instructed the director Of agriculture to
distribute useful information among the
producers and intermediate agents who
deal with the wheat crop, and to place
before them samples of the wheats which
are most in demand for export. The
Bombay authorities have also arrived a,
the conclusion that seed of a pure quality
should be supplied either free or at a low
rate to selected cultivators and that snail
prices should be awarded to the most
approved cultivation. Not the least
important assistance rendered by the
Indian government to The cultivators is
the improvement Of the systems Of
irrigation on which it has for some time
been engaged, and which II lis steadily
perfecting. Again, TO facilitate the
development Of the wheat resources and
to facilitate The export trade the Indian
government IS pursuing policy Of
encouragement which las already
resulted il better facilities fnr transit to
the scabeard BY The construction Of new
railroads and the reduction Of feights,
and in the removal Of taxes and export
and octroi duty Nutl.ing will be left
undone to place Indian agriculture in as
favorable 4 condition as possible for.
competition with the rest Of tbt world o
fact which the American farmer will do
well to take into account. ..5s.. 55s
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