TRITICUM 

 VULGARB 



Bengal 



THE WHEAT PLANT 



Irrigation. 



Seed Kate. 



Outturn. 



Cost. 



Sind. 



Superior. 



Outturn. 



Bengal. 



Area. 



Yield. 

 Districts. 



Soils. 



Seasons. 



Seed to Acre. 



It should be sown in October, and the seed for dry-crop wheat is always 

 drilled. The rate varies from 40 to 55 Ib. per acre. Irrigated wheat, on 

 the other hand, " is sometimes broadcasted, sometimes drilled and oc- 

 casionally sown by hand in the furrows behind the plough." The seed 

 rate is higher than for dry wheat ; "70 to 80 Ib. per acre are ordinarily 

 sown, and in the case of spelt wheat in husk, 100 Ib." After sowing, the 

 crop requires little attention beyond regular irrigation. 



" The outturn of grain varies much with the season. A well-managed 

 irrigated crop produces about 2,000 Ib." (24-4 maunds) " grain and over 

 a ton of straw, whilst a good dry crop will not often exceed 1,000 Ib. of 

 grain and about the same weight of straw. 600 to 650 Ib. grain per acre 

 probably represent a full average crop in an ordinary year from deep, 

 black soil, cultivated in the ordinary manner." 



The cost of cultivating dry wheat in Khandesh, Mollison estimates at 

 Es. 12-7a. per acre. 



Sind may be said to be intermediate between Bombay and the Pairjab- 

 as regards wheat cultivation. In parts of the country, the methods of 

 cultivation, the nature of the soil and the character of the wheats are 

 similar to those in the Panjab, but in other parts an approximation to 

 the wheats of Northern Bombay is seen. The Sind wheats are generally 

 said to be superior to those of Bombay, and possess a larger proportion 

 of soft white forms. Most of the Sind wheats are, as in the Panjab, 

 repeatedly watered or flooded during their growth. A dry crop is, how- 

 ever, raised on lands that are inundated during the rains. For a period 

 of five years, ending 1901-2, the average outturn in Sind, according to 

 the Agricultural Statistics, was 1,066 Ib. per acre. 



[Cy. Monteith, Wheat Cult, in Bombay Pres., Govt. Publicat. Rev. Dept., 1883, 

 No. 505 ; Lisboa, I.e. 128-34 ; Eept. Director Bot. Surv. Ind., 1902, 8 ; Crop 

 Exper., Bomb. Prea. ; Repta. Dept. Land Rec. and Agri. ; Exper. Farm Repts., 

 Poona, Manjri, etc.] 



Bengal. The area in 1904-5 (including ^Eastern Bengal), according to 

 the Agricultural Statistics, was 1,455,500 acres, which gave a yield of 444,100 

 tons. This represents only about 2 per cent, of the net cropped area 

 of the province. The Final Memorandum on the crop for 1906-7 states 

 the area and yield in Bengal (excluding Eastern Bengal) to have been 

 in 1905-6, 1,248,300 acres and 396,600 tons ; and in 1906-7, 1,402,600 

 acres and 388,700 tons. The districts of the Patna Division ordinarily 

 contain about one-half of the total area, amounting, in 1904-5 to 746,300 

 acres, and those of Bhagalpur about one-third, or 422,100 acres in 1904-5. 

 The areas in the other divisions were : The Presidency, 120,900 acres ; 

 Eajshahi, 113,600 acres ; Chota Nagpur, 36,000 acres ; Bard wan, 14,000 

 acres, etc. According to the Agricultural Statistics, the average yield 

 has been fixed provisionally at 12 maunds or 984 Ib. per acre for the 

 Bihar districts, 10 maunds or 861 Ib. per acre for the Bengal districts, 

 and 451 Ib. per acre for the districts of Chota Nagpur. 



Mukerji states that a " clay-loam, easy of irrigation, situated in a 

 dry locality, is the best soil to choose for wheat " ; and again, " The 

 best crops of wheat are grown on land mainly brought under canal irri- 

 gation." The land should be prepared for sowing as soon as possible 

 after the rains are over. Sowing should be made when cold weather has 

 been established, say, in November. In rocky and laterite soils, sowing 

 should be done earlier, about the 20th or 25th October, ^or even earlier still 

 if the rains cease in October. About 100 Ib. of seed are used per acre, but 



1098 



