AGRICULTURE IN INDIA

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1775, 24 February 1888, Page 3

AGRICULTURE IN INDIA

PcofoßßOr Wallace, of l\w. Chair of aeri : culture at Edinburgh Unlvorrtlty, spent hla last vacation m tiavvsUlng ovor Northern mid Southern India for tho parpoßß. of studying K. agricultural problems. He regarded tho -question of Indian wheat importation aa having a limit. The area oonld not Lo Indefinitely extended, and the native cu : tivatora found a great difficulty ia getting workmen to settle m new districts, m addition to a deatth of capital and bulkck power. It wao probabio that tho wheat export would slowly in.foaro, but. othar markets baafdea tho Unitod Kfugdoui would open to it ; for example, owln^; to the partial Rußaiau wheat crop fviluro, muoh Indian wheat was required to take its place r.fc po-ts on the Mediterranean. Tho <vroa under wheat do. ing last aeaaon was 6,( 00,000 acroa, the average yield from which wa. nine buaholß par aore, whioh la equal m the aggregate to 1 500,000 tons. But ludkn wheat io sent to market m bo dirty a Btato that it is calculated that 20,000 tons of dl.t are exported overy year. Tht'ae impuritiea oonaißfc of earthy partioleß, together with foreign seeds, Tha cultivator could take them out by the alovo or winnowing fan, but tho exporting merchants have fixed a minimum standard of " refraction " at 5 p>r cont ; ao that if the moat carefully par fled eampleß bo s<nt to market, the grower get 3 cx.ctly tho same price for it an if it contained 5 per cent of mud. The Indian cultivator takes advantage of tho poaltiou m which he finds himself and employ b a professional mud-mixer to bring the wher.t up to the standard of muddincsa ordained by the Chamber of Commerce. Tho abolition of thia standard of " refractiou" is brged ns the only remody for preventing dirt lv the Indian wheat. The crossing of the ujUtve Indian oattle wiih Imported English steck haa, according to Professor Wallace proved a failure. The two racea have a diametri cally opposit . tendency, the oue to fiinew and the other to butcher's meat. Ag-iin, tha Indian oatdo have whit) hair and a black skin, wbero^s tho European whiteekinnod breeda cannot withstand the action of the Bi*n. Thia ia naturo'a prcviaion cf p:aUc i?<n, the white coat reflects muoh ray., whilst of tho eun's black akin readily ab-orba the heat. Were it otherwise the skin would blister and crack. Another peculiarity is the largo flashy hump. Catt'e are of the utmoet impot tiihee m India. Thoy neaicly supply all the motive powar of the farm, aud travel readily very long jmrneys. Thoy jarap like goats and are very docile. Unfortuna'ely tho beat breeda appear to bo deteriorating m quality.