THE MARKETING OF WHEAT 231 



market in as prime condition as might have been wished. It 

 could not be shipped to Germany, and the English buyer de- 

 ducted 5 per cent " refraction. " The Indian exporter soon 

 learned to exercise care lest any wheat containing less than 5 

 per cent dirt should be shipped to England. He was some- 

 times forced to mix 2 to 3 per cent of foreign matter with the 

 wheat in order not to sustain a loss. This caused an economic 

 loss, not only in annually transporting 15,000 to 20,000 tons of 

 trash to England, but the English miller was obliged to devise 

 machinery to clean this wheat. These evils were partially 

 remedied in the nineties. In 1898, 15 grades of wheat were 

 shipped to England from India. In good years, the storage 

 capacity of Bombay is exhausted by the wheat brought from 

 the central provinces of India. The wheat of the Punjab is 

 collected at Multan and shipped from Karachi. Considerable 

 wheat flour is ground and exported at Bombay and other 

 centers. 



ARGENTINA. The Argentine wheat grower has no granaries 

 on his farm, and consequently his entire crop is marketed as 

 soon after harvest as possible. Lack of improved facilities and 

 methods are a source of great loss. The grain is handled in 

 bags, which are very expensive and which are of such poor 

 quality that there is quite a loss from leakage. The country 

 roads are very poor. The wheat is hauled in immense two or 

 four-wheeled wagons having wheels 8 feet in diameter. The 

 two-wheelers are hauled by 12 to 15 horses o mules, or by 8 to 

 16 bullocks. One animal is fastened between the huge thills, 

 and the others are hooked on by means of ropes tied to any 

 portion of the cart to which a rope can be fastened. The yoke 

 of the oxen is fastened to their horns, and the driver's seat 

 is on the yoke between the heads of two oxen. The four- 

 wheelers carry from 4 to 6 tons, and require more animals to 

 draw them. The hauling is not generally done by the producers 

 of wheat, but by men who make a business of hauling. The 

 grain is hauled from 15 to 60 miles. Corrugated iron ware- 

 houses have been built at some of the principal wheat stations, 

 but they are used only by the large producers and dealers. As 

 a rule, warehouses are not available for the small farmer, nor 

 would he store his grain if they were. He is so ignorant that 

 he prefers to pile his wheat outdoors exposed to the weather. 



