The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1897-01-02
THE WHEAT OF INDIA
FIRST MATERIALLY AFFECTED
THE WORLDS MARKET IN 1882.
Where 1t Is Grown. How 1t Is Grown
and It's Effect ON the Ameri-
can Product.

For the first time since the exports Of
Indian wheat began to play a serious part
in the worlds supplies, the failure Of the
Indian wheat crop has drawn general at
tention in this country to the wheat Of In
dia. For the nrst time this is due to an
advance in price, which in the past two
months has increased the profit Of the
American wheat grower by about 81 IN
acre, says the Philadelphia Press
Hitherto the effect OF Indian wheat has
been only to depress prices. 1t first APP,
Peared on a large scale in the worlds
wheat market in 1882 to supply the lack
caused by the failure of American wheat
in 1881. Since then the exports have var
led. They have been as high as 100000
bushels a year, 1856, and they have fall
en- as low as 21,000,00O bushels. In other
words, they have supplied from 10 per
cent to per cent of the total amount of
wheat sent out by exporting or desired
by importing countries.
The United States furnishes a quarter
of the wheat sent out by exporting coun-
tries, and Russia nearly another quarter.
India is about as big as the United
States east Of the MISSISSIPPI, and on that
area 1t has about four times the popula-
ton which all the United States contains.
But the wheat crop OF India Is only
grown over a small share Of this territory.
Il is confined to the northwest provinces,
and the region from which export takes
place is practically limited to the valley Of
the Indus. Wheat is grown in. India in
about the same latitude as in the southern
part of the United States, but the condi-
ttons vary altogether from any Rgricul-
ture practiced in this country, and exist
on the North American continent only in
Mexico.
Indian official reports give about 49,
OeO, 600 acres under wheat. In all, includ-
ing the regions in native states where the
statistics are incomplete, there are about
100000 acres Of wheat in India. This is
about three-fourths the wheat area of the
United States. The Indian crop varies
from SOO,OOO,OOO bushels in good years, like
1SS4-5, to 2OO,OOO,OOO in poor years, like 1891
2, and running down to nothing, as in the
current year, from one-third to one-half
the product of this country.
OF this area fully 100000 acres are
artihcially watered, and all of 1t depends
more or less upon irrigation. In the last
Is years the area under wheat in India
has about doubled on account of the irri-
ment, a single one of which, the Sarda
project, is expected to add 3,OOO,OOO acres
to the wheat area.
What has really taken place in india Is
that an ignorant cultivator, who scratch
es the ground with a wooden pillow, plants
hts wheat in rows, weeds it as he would
garden patch, drags a ladder over it to
harrow the field, threshes 1t out by driv-
ing cattle over = threshing floor, houses
IT in pit and carries it on his back to
the nearest market, or in a creaking bull
ock cart, has had his capacity for raising
wheat nearly doubled and his capacity for
reaching a market created outright, be-
cause English administration has net
worked the Punjah with irrigation canals
of which a single one has bitches $500
miles long and has then provided rail-
roads to carry the products to--the sea-
shore, where it reaches the worlds ocean
steamer communication.
Wheat for the Hindu ryot, is therefore,
not food crop. 1t is an extra. He does
| not live on 1t, he does not sell 1t to his
nelghbors for food, and the share Of 1t
that is used for food by the native popu-
| lation of India is consumed 4in%the cIlies
or by Europeans. The cultivator himself
lives, almost wholly on other food crops
which he grows In the summer. In the
fall he puts in his wheat; it is watered in
the spring by the melting SHOWS Of the
Flilmalayas, and by a scant rainfall. His
harvest comes in the late spring and his
crop reaches Europe during the summer
running the market which American
wheat once enjoyed, when the first fruits
Of the years field reached Europe.
Sita Ram, an Indian correspondent
| Govinda Das, writes: IAN intelligent
small farmer know in the Allahabad dis
trict may be taken as type Of the aver
age tolerably successful peasant in India
He is by no means what Is regarded a:
well to do, but his lot is such as might S'
envied by not few of his fellows. HI
lives on farm of 10 acres, (which he and
his forefathers have possessed for fv,
generations.
HE is As years old and has a famil!
consisting of six members besides himself
to wit: An aunt, his wife, two sons, age'
e and IS respectively, the wife Of the cid
est son, aged 10, and niece nine year