WHEAT IN ASIA 297 



the smooth land and the low river banks in the 

 Punjab district, the system where canals from the 

 river are used has developed rapidly. 



The Seasons. The Indian year has three 

 seasons, - - the hot, the rainy, and the cool. The 

 hot season begins in March and lasts until July ; 

 the rainy season is from June to October, during 

 the southwest monsoon ; and the cool season 

 covers the balance of the year. During the rainy 

 season all of India except a strip along the east 

 coast receives much rain. During a single season 

 the variance in amount of rainfall for different 

 parts of India is decidedly great. Likewise the 

 amount in a single district varies greatly from 

 year to year. This uncertainty has caused many 

 crop failures and famines and has led to the use of 

 the irrigation systems. 



Two crops are grown each year, - - the summer 

 crop and the winter crop. The summer crop is 

 sown in June or July and is harvested in October 

 and November. This crop is usually maize, 

 millet, rice, or other grain. Wheat, in "northern 

 India, is the so-called winter crop. It is sown at 

 the close of the southwest monsoon, September 

 or October, and is harvested from Feburary to 

 April. During the growing period of the wheat the 

 sky is clear and the weather cool and dry. Thus 

 the wheat ripens before the advent of the hot season. 



The Soil of the Wheat Region. - - A great part of 



