296 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



important because of its future prospect than for 

 its present supply. There are vast areas of cheap, 

 unused land which are fairly well adapted to 

 wheat raising. With the cultivation of these 

 lands and the building of railways and canals, 

 Asiatic Russia gives promise of producing a large 

 wheat surplus. The outlook then is for this 

 country to become of increasing importance in 

 the wheat commerce of the world. 



The Wheat Region of British India. Location 

 and Extent. - - British India extends from 8 to 37 

 north latitude. Its northern extreme thus lies 

 farther south than does the greater part of the 

 United States. Its area is approximately one 

 half as great and its population is about three 

 times as large. The density of the population as 

 well as its position is in marked contrast with that 

 of Asiatic Russia. 



Wheat is grown to some extent in nearly all 

 parts of India, but the great wheat district is in 

 the north, especially in the northwest provinces. 

 The wheat area of India is approximately one 

 ninth of that of the entire world. 



The Punjab district, in northwest India, because 

 of the development of irrigation systems has come 

 to be of great importance as a wheat producer. 

 The methods of irrigation here vary from those 

 where wells and storage tanks are used to highly 

 developed river and canal systems. Because of 



