Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-07-18
Wheat Production in India.
Cor. Country Gentleman.

The following communication app
peared in the "Englishman," which
is one of the leading papers of Call
cutta, and the editor of which vouch-
es for the correspondent as being. a
recognized authority on the subject
matter of the communication. l
send it to you, that our people may
get an Indian view of the wheat sit
uation in that country and to show
that even in India there are thought
full persons who look forward to the
cessation of Indian exports at an
early day and for very much the
same reason which / have assigned
for the belief that American exports
would soon cease; that is, the in
crease of domestic consumption.
This writer refers to Bengal as being
the only province in India where the
rural population is not underfed, and
it may be well to state that Bengal
is the only province where the Brit
ish government does not own the
land and take, as a land tax, "all the
traffic will bear" The production of
wheat in India, as well as Indian ex-
portation, is matter in which we
shall be interested as long as we eX~
port wheat ; hence such information
and conclusions as this writer sets
forth cannot fail to interest your
readers. c. WOOD DAVIS.
EDITOR ENGLIsHMAN-The arti-
Gle in your esteemed paper of yester-
day on the formation, of wheat rings
in the Puujaub, as well as the article
about wheat in today's issue, are un>
doubtedly written under the popular
and prevailing opinion with regard
to the immensely of the wheat pro-
duction of India. AS it is the FASH
ion to talk about fallacies, l am
afraid that the greatest fallacy about
Indian wheat prevails among a great
number Of people in India and Eng
land.
Now is it possible, with the extern
sive railway communications and
with the conditions of trade in this
country, that rings could be formed
to keep the wheat at high rate in a
special place or town, if the stocks OF
wheat were not reduced to the low
est minimum possible all over the
country?
Any one who is at all acquainted
with the trade knows what a keen
competition exists between the trad
ers, and Ire is aware of the fact, that
the paltry profit of So rupees on
every 100 tons, any Marwari, or any
other trader, will bring any amount
of wheat, or other produce, from
one end of the country to the other
The plain fact is that the stocks o.
cereals, especially wheat, have been
and are of late, running in this coun-
try to a dangerous minimum, anG
that people have not realized the fac
that all the wheat which India pro
duces is required for the consumption
of the country; and this fact will no
be realized until serious disaster oc
ours.
This season, with the prospects o
good crops, as undoubtedly they
seem to be, large contracts have beer
entered into for wheat, and the Ma
warts and other traders have sole
very largely; the consequence,
they carry out all their contracts
will probably be loss to them 0
four or five!lakhs Of rupees, and tn,
buyers will not probably be better of
with their freight engagements.
| Without overhauling the statistics
I believe that few plain facts ough
to be sufficient to demonstrate HOY
erroneous the idea about the whea
supply of India is. The total pro
duction of wheat in India is roughl
estimated at S,O00,0 tons. The to
tai exports are, on an average, 875,
600 tons, or about II per cent. of tn
whole consequently the SO per cent
, of the production is consumed in tn
country and no stocks remain at tn
end of the season.
1t is, 1 believe, self-evident that
} slight expansion in consumption,
: partial failure in the crops of othe
fOod-grains like kessari, bajra, etc.,
l sufficient to absorb the percentag
' exported. Besides, we have stead
: increase Of consumption, in const
] quence of the natural growth of I'll
: population Of India.
= 1t is l believe, fact that the gres
' mass of the rural population, wit
I the execution of that of thp PrOvin r