Wheat.

Recent exports of wheat to Europe have drawn attention to the important place which this crop occupies in Indian agriculture. It is grown to some extent in almost every District; but, broadly speaking, it may be said that wheat does not thrive where rice does; nor, indeed, anywhere south of the Deccan. The great wheat-growing tract of India is the North-Western Provinces, where 57 per cent. of the food-grain area is under this crop. In the Punjab, the proportion is almost as high, or 54 per cent. Wheat is also largely grown in Behar, and in the Districts of Bengal that lie west of the Statistics Ganges. In the Central Provinces, in 1879, wheat was raised on 27 per cent. of the food-grain area, being the chief crop in the Districts of Hoshangábád, Narsinhpur, and Ságar. In Bombay, the corresponding proportion was only 7 per cent., and in Sind, 12 per cent. The significance of these figures may be learned from the fact, that in Great Britain the area under wheat is only 3 million acres, or less than one-half the amount in a single Indian Province, the Punjab. It has been estimated that the total area under wheat in India is equal to the area under the same crop in the United States.

of wheat

cultiva tion.

Out-turn of wheat.

Nor is the out-turn contemptible, averaging about 13 bushels per acre in the Punjab, as compared with an average of 15 bushels for the whole of France. The quality, also, of the grain is high enough to satisfy the demands of English millers; and Calcutta Club No. 1' commands a price in Mark Lane not much below that of the finest Australian or Californian produce. Unfortunately, when a prosperous trade with Europe seemed on the point of establishing itself, the famine of 1877-78 supervened; and India will now have to fight against the

position of vantage occupied by the United States. According to the system of classification in Upper India, wheat ranks as a rabí or spring crop, being reaped at the close of the cold weather in April and May. Wherever possible, it is irrigated; and the extension of canals through the Gangetic Doáb has largely contributed to the substitution of wheat for inferior cereals. The abolition, in 1873, of the old Indian export duty on wheat, laid the foundation of the Indo-European wheat-trade, which, since this wise measure, has attained such large dimensions. Taking India as a whole, it may be broadly affirmed that Millets. the staple food-grain is neither rice nor wheat, but millet. Excluding special rice tracts, varieties of millet are grown more extensively than any other crop, from Madras in the south, at least as far as Rájputána in the north.1 The two most common kinds are great millet (Holcus sorghum vel Sorghum vulgare), varieties. known as joár or jawárí in the languages derived from the Sanskrit, as jonna in Telugu, and as cholam in Tamil; and spiked millet (Holcus spicatus vel Penicillaria spicata), called bájra in the north and kambu in the south. In Mysore and the neighbouring Districts, rágí (Eleusine coracana), called náchani in Bombay, takes the first place. According to the Madras system of classification, these millets all rank as 'dry crops,' being watered only by the local rainfall, and sown under either monsoon; farther north, they are classed with the kharif or autumn harvest, as opposed to wheat.

Chief

of millet

The following statistics show the importance of millet culti- Statistics vation throughout Southern and Central India. In Madras, cultivation. in 1875-76, cholam covered 4,610,000 acres; rágí, 1,636,000 acres ; varagu or auricalu (Paspalum frumentaceum), 1,054,000 acres; kambu, 2,909,000 acres; samai or millet proper (Panicum miliaceum), 1,185,000,- making a total of 11,384,000 acres under 'dry crops,' being 52 per cent. of the cultivated area. The proportion was 67 per cent. of the food-grain area in 1879. In the upland region of Mysore, the proportion under 'dry crops,' chiefly rági, rises to 77 per cent. of the cultivated area, or 84 per cent. of the food-grain area. The total under all millets, joár, and bájra in Bombay and Sind is 82 per cent. of the food-grain area; in the Central Provinces, 39 per cent.; in the Punjab, 41 per cent.; and in the NorthWestern Provinces, 34 per cent. of the food-grain area.

Indian corn is cultivated to a limited extent in all parts of the country; barley, in the upper valley of the Ganges, throughout the Punjab, and in the Himálayan valleys; oats, only as 1 See foregoing table, p. 384.

Pulses.

Oil-seeds.

Vegetables.

an experimental crop by Europeans. Joár and rági, but not bájra, are invaluable as fodder for cattle.

Pulses of many sorts form important staples. In Madras, the area under pulses in 1875 was 2,077,000 acres, or 9 per cent.; in Bombay, about 830,000 acres, or 7 per cent. ; in the Punjab, 4,000,000 acres, or 21 per cent. The principal varieties grown, with many native names, but generically known to Europeans as gram and dál, are-Cicer arietinum, Phaseolus mungo, and P. radiatus, Dolichos biflorus, D. uniflorus, and D. lablab, Cajanus indicus, Ervum lens, Lathyrus sativus, and Pisum sativum.

Oil-seeds also form an important crop in all parts of the country; oil being universally required, according to native customs, for application to the person, for food, and for lamps. In recent years, the cultivation of oil-seeds has received an extraordinary stimulus owing to their demand in Europe, especially in France. But as they can be grown after rice, etc. as a second crop, this increase has hardly at all tended to diminish the production of food-grains. The four chief varieties grown are mustard or rape-seed, linseed, til or gingelly (sesamum), and castor-oil. Bengal and the North-Western Provinces are at present the chief sources of supply for the foreign demand, but gingelly is largely exported from Madras and, to a less extent, from Burma. Area in 1875 under oil-seeds — in Madras, about 1,200,000 acres, or nearly 6 per cent. of the cultivated area; in Bombay, 628,000, or about 5 per cent.; in the Central Provinces, 1,358,571 acres, or nearly 9 per cent.; in the Punjab, 780,000 acres, or 4 per cent. In the year 1877-78, the total export of oil-seeds from India amounted to 12,187,020 cwts., valued at £7,360,284; in 1878-79, to 7,211,790 cwts., valued at £4,682,512.

Vegetables are everywhere cultivated in garden plots for household use, and also on a larger scale in the neighbourhood of great towns. Among favourite native vegetables, the following may be mentioned:-The egg-plant, called brinjál or baigan (Solanum melongena), potatoes, cabbages, cauliflower, radishes, onions, garlic, turnips, yams, and a great variety of cucurbitaceous plants, including Cucumis sativus, Cucurbita maxima, Lagenaria vulgaris, Trichosanthes dioica, and Benicasa cerifera. Of these, potatoes, cabbages, and turnips are of recent introduction. Almost all English vegetables can be raised by a careful gardener. Potatoes thrive best on the higher elevations, such as the Khásí Hills, the Nilgiris, the Mysore uplands, and the slopes of the Himalayas; but they are also grown on the

plains and even in deltaic Districts. They were first introduced into the Khásí Hills in 1830. They now constitute the principal crop in these and other highland tracts. The annual export from the Khásí Hills to the Calcutta market is more than 7000 tons, valued at £50,000 a year.

Among the cultivated fruits are the following:-Mango Fruits. (Mangifera indica), plantain (Musa paradisiaca), pine-apple (Ananas sativa), pomegranate (Punica granatum), guava (Psydium pomiferum et P. pyriferum), tamarind (Tamarindus indica), jack (Artocarpus integrifolia), custard-apple (Anona squamosa), papaw (Carica papaya), shaddock (Citrus decumana), and several varieties of fig, melon, orange, lime, and citron. The mangoes of Bombay, of Múltán, and of Maldah in Bengal, and the oranges of the Khásí Hills enjoy a high reputation; while the guavas of Madras are made into an

excellent preserve.

Among spices, for the preparation of curry and other hot Spices. dishes, turmeric and chillies hold the first place, and are very widely cultivated. Next in importance come ginger, coriander, aniseed, black cummin, and fenugreek. The pepper vine is confined to the Malabar coast, from Kánara to Travancore. Cardamoms are a valuable crop in the same locality, and also in the Nepálese Himalayas. Pán or betel-leaf is grown by a special caste in most parts of the country. Its cultivation requires constant care, but is highly remunerative. Betel-nut or the areca palm is chiefly grown in certain favoured localities, such as the deltaic Districts of Bengal, the Konkan of Bombay, and the highlands of Southern India.

Besides betel-nut (Areca catechu), the palms of India Palms. include the cocoa-nut (Cocos nucifera), the bastard date (Phoenix sylvestris), the palmyra (Borassus flabelliformis), and the true date (Phoenix dactylifera). The cocoa-nut, which loves a sandy soil and a moist climate, is found in greatest perfection along the strip of coast-line which fringes the southwest of the peninsula, where it ranks next to rice as the staple product. The bastard date, grown chiefly in the country round Calcutta and in the north-east of the Madras Presidency, supplies both the jaggery sugar of commerce, and intoxicating liquors for local consumption. Spirit is also distilled from the palmyra, especially in the neighbourhood of Bombay and in the south-east of Madras. The true date is almost confined to Sind. Sugar is manufactured both from the sugar-cane and from Sugar. the bastard date-palm, but the total production is inadequate to the local demand. The best cane is grown in the North

Cotton.

The

American war, 1862.

Cotton

Districts.

Western Provinces, on irrigated land. It is an expensive crop, requiring much attention, and not yielding a return within the year; but the profits are proportionately large. In Bengal, the manufacture from the cane has declined during the present century; but in Jessor District, the making of date-sugar is a thriving and popular industry. The preparation of sugar is everywhere in the hands of natives, except in the case of the Aska Factory in the Madras District of Ganjám, and the Ashtagrám Factory in Mysore. Both these factories use sugarcane instead of the date juice, and have received honourable notice at exhibitions in Europe.

Cotton holds the first place among agricultural products grown for export. From the earliest times, cotton has been grown in sufficient quantities to meet the local demand, and even in the last century there was some slight export from the country, which was carefully fostered by the East India Company. But the present importance of the crop dates from the crisis in Lancashire caused by the American War. Prior to 1860, the exports of raw cotton from India used to average less than 3 millions sterling a year; but after that year they rose by leaps, until in 1866 they reached the enormous total of 37 millions. Then came the crash, caused by the restoration of peace in the United States; and the exports steadily fell to just under 8 millions in 1879. The fact is that Indian cotton has a short staple, and cannot compare with the best American cotton for spinning the finer qualities of yarn. But while the cotton famine was at its height, the cultivators were intelligent enough to make the most of their opportunity. The area under cotton increased enormously, and the growers managed to retain in their own hands a fair share of the profit.

The principal cotton-growing tracts are the plains of Guzerat and Káthiáwár, whence Indian cotton has received in the Liverpool market the historic name of Surat; the highlands of the Deccan; and the deep valleys of the Central Provinces and Berar. The best native varieties are found in the Central Provinces and Berar, passing under the trade names of Hinganghát and Amráoti. These varieties have been successfully introduced into the Bombay District of Khándesh. Experiments with seed from New Orleans have been conducted for several years past on the Government farms in many parts of India; but it cannot be said that they have resulted in success except in the Bombay District of Dharwár, where exotic cotton 1 A full account of the manufacture will be found in my Statistical Account of Bengal, vol. ii. pp. 280-298.