The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice, to all men. of whatsover satate or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, FEB. 28, 1888.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2439, 28 February 1888, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice, to all men. of whatsover satate or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, FEB. 28, 1888.

The competition of Indians a wheat producing country forms a subject of very great interest to the people of these c lonics, who arc also producers ot' that cereal and seek to obtain a share of the Cristish markets, therefore, our readers will, no doubt, be pleased to gain all the information we can give them on the matter, More than usual attention lias been directed to the wheat-uvowing capabilities of India, and her rivalry with (Ireat JJritain in that agricultural industrv by Professor Wallace, who has pi'id a visit. <o I .he Hindoo l ! unpire for the ostensible purpose of studying agriculturejind forestry in that va-:t country. 1" 'In ; work lie was materially aided by the Indian (!overtiinenf. Pr lessor 'Wallace recently gave his experiences and observations in a paper lie read before the i'Vinei's Club in Edinburgh. At one time the Agricultural Department of India had

in min«! a scheme, for p(Jeclit)£» fjroat improveinrnts in the. system of oulvfi/ion in India, and sent men to KuuUikl at- tin? public expense to study agriculture and obtain a suitable tr.iinin.o-. But the experiment foil through, owing apparently to want of faith in the. possibility of working any improvements, and to the ryots' faith in the (Government proposals to remodel their practices having vanished. in order to produce wheat for the market, beyond that, required by the consumpiioij of their own te-ming millions, the ryots increased the area by taking in more land from the jungle wastes most conveniently situated to their own holdings ; but they have also cultivated wheat in place of some other crop. There is, however, a limit to the extension of the substituted wheat area, and Professor Wallace thinks that there is little if any more laud that can be made available for agricultural purposes, so that disposes of one of the common fallacies that the area of land in India capable of being utilised for wheat-growing purposes was limitless, and that the future supplies of Indian wheat would so increase as to flood the English markets to overflowing. Professor Wallace, however, admits that wheat from that country remains a substantial item in the annual imports of Great Britain, but states there are no indications that the increase would reach any ratio to create alarm, notwithstanding the fact that with the extension of railways new wheat-growing districts are tapped. There is also the natural result of decreasing yields arising from the deterioration of the grain by too frequent growth on the same land. The hncl in India is not seriously impoverished by the native system of rotation, or by the method of growing mixed crops, but these time-honoured practices will not be readily abandoned and the ryots grow wheat year after year with success as though the land was virgin soil In the opinion of the professor if wheat is to continue to be cultivated to advantage in India, it must be in a judiciously arranged rotation embracing a number of leguminous crops, so that, in place of the home markets beingover-flooded with wheat, we might expect a moderate supply of that cereal along with others, such as peas and other pulses which would bring cheap cattle food to the Britisli farmers. Again there is another and serious drawback to the better marketing of Indian wheat, namely the immense amount of clay and sand mixi-:l with the grain. Much of this i.s due to the primitive mode of harvesting and threshing, but a large proportion is deliberately added to the bulk to increase its weight.

In giving a brief synopsis of Professor Wallace's opinions on Indian wheat and its cultivation, the fact must not bo overlooked that our Eastern Empire has a great variety of products, although, naturally, wheat Ims the most interest just now to us, both at home and in the colonics. For instance, cotton stands highest on the list of Indian exports, then comes opium, oilseeds, rice, and wheat fifth. There is no doubt, wheat exports have increased immensely. This was owing, in in a great measure, to the fruits of a settled and wise Government, hut, looking at the vast population, which is increasing at the rate of four millions every year, and the wants of which have first to be met,, we think there is little to fear that the imports of Indian wheat in (lie Old Country will swamp the British farmers, or that they will shut out the colonies, with their vastly superior corn, from the markets of Great Britain.