HOWARD, LEAKE AND HOWARD. 55 



111 parts of Bihar, wheat is grown on high moisture retaining heavy 

 loams without irrigation. In Oudh, wells supplement the rainfall, 

 while in the Doab, between the Jumna and the Ganges, and also in 

 the Western Districts of the United Provinces canal water is com- 

 monly employed. In the Punjab, the wheat crop is largely watered 

 from perennial and inundation canals while, in Sind, inundation from 

 the Indus takes the place of the monsoon. The predominant 

 features of the wheat tracts of the plains are the alluvial character of 

 the soil and the occurrence of some form of irrigation. The second 

 great wheat growing tract in India is found in the Peninsula on the 

 black cotton soils of the Central Provinces and Bombay. Here irriga- 

 tion is the exception and most of the wheat is grown on the moisture 

 left in the soil after the previous monsoon. 



Besides moisture and soil another factor in Indian wheat pro- 

 duction is of importance. This is the length of the growth period. 

 Wheat is generally sown as soon as the temperature falls sufficiently 

 for germination to take place and for the seedlings to develop. 

 The length of the growth period in the spring is also limited by 

 temperature and the rapid advance of the hot season prevents the 

 cultivation of late maturing wheats. The growth period is shortest 

 in. Central India and longest in the Punjab and North- West Fron- 

 tier Province. 



The main directions in which Indian wheat can be improved are 

 two — yield and quality. The shortness of the growth period and the 

 fact that the water supply is liable to be deficient in amount indicate 

 that moderate yielding wheats are likely to be the most profitable to 

 the grower over an average of seasons. Higher yielding wheats can 

 be grown with safety only where the supply of moisture is adequate 

 and where the retentive power of the soil is considerable. Compared 

 with the high yielding wheats of Western Europe, where the 

 growth period is long and the rainfall well distributed, the wheats of 

 India are but moderate yielders. Generally speaking, the season is 

 too short in India for the growth of such high cropping wheats as 

 those of France and England. As yield is determined by the length 

 of the growth period and the average water supply, the plant 



