INDIA. 



493 



ed during the year. The number of passengers 

 in 1884-'85 was 73,815,119, against 65,098,953 

 the year before. There were transported 16,- 

 663,007 tons of freight. The carriage of grain 

 fell off 500,000 tons. The gross receipts 

 amounted to 8,156,157, the net receipts to 

 7,910,068, paying something over 5 per cent, 

 interest on the capital, as compared with over 

 5 per cent, the year before. Of the total 

 mileage completed, 6,906 miles belonged to 

 companies, 4,434 miles were state lines, impe- 

 rial or provincial, and 664 miles belonged to 

 native states. There were under construction 

 3,555 miles: 963 by companies, 2,125 by the 

 state, and 467 by native states. The total 

 capital expended was upward of 155,450,000, 

 of which 105,319,144 had been expended by 

 guaranteed companies, 42,924,898 by the Gov- 

 ernment, 3,783,065 on native state lines, and 

 3,423,259 on the lines of assisted companies. 

 An attempt to raise a loan of 3,000,000, in 

 1885, for the Midland Railway, was unsuccess- 

 ful, though the Government guaranteed 4 per 

 cent, interest, and offered an interest in the 

 surplus profits. The Sinde-Pishin Railroad, 

 which the Government made extraordinary 

 efforts to construct during the Afghan crisis, 

 is expected to be completed by August, 1886. 

 The lower Bolan section, extending to within 

 40 miles of Quetta, was opened in October, 

 1885. The new railroads recently constructed 

 enabled India to export wheat in such quanti- 

 ties as to bring down the price of it to the 

 lowest level known in generations. The roads 

 that conveyed the most wheat were the lines in 

 the Northwest Provinces, Oude, and the Pun- 

 jaub built partly for strategic purposes. These 

 lines do not pay interest on their capital, and 

 consequently the Indian export trade in wheat 

 is, to a large extent, stimulated by bounties. 

 As many as 24 new lines were projected by 

 the Liberal Government; but the large ex- 

 penditure on fortifications and armaments in 

 contemplation will interfere with the execution 

 of this scheme. Many think that the Govern- 

 ment risks the recurrence of a disastrous fam- 

 ine by building outlet lines and stimulating the 

 exportation of wheat, instead of providing 

 transverse railroads to carry the grain to the 

 distressed districts in case of a severe and ex- 

 tended drought. 



Wheat Production. The extraordinary in- 

 crease in the wheat exports in 1883 seriously 

 affected the American wheat trade and greatly 

 aggravated the agricultural depression in Eu- 

 rope. The fear of this new competition was 

 lessened by a more accurate knowledge of the 

 conditions of Indian wheat production, though 

 authorities differ regarding the possible exten- 

 sion of the Indian export trade in wheat. The 

 director of the Agricultural Department of the 

 Northwest Provinces and Oude, where the best 

 wheat-lands are situated, estimates that the 

 cost of raising a bushel of wheat is about 50 

 cents. The selling price, when exports are 

 large, is about 63 cents. The average yield on 



dry land is 12 bushels, and on irrigated land, 

 22 bushels per acre. The distance from the 

 seaboard of the wheat districts of India varies 

 from 300 to 900 miles. The freight charges vary 

 considerably : the price from Delhi to Bombay, 

 890 miles, being 6s. Gd. per quarter ; from Fyza- 

 bad to Calcutta, 598 miles, 5s. 2cZ. ; from La- 

 hore to Kurrachee, about the same as from 

 Delhi to Bombay ; on the Great Indian Penin- 

 sular line, somewhat more for a shorter dis- 

 tance; and on the East Indian line, less than 

 on the American wheat roads. The freights 

 to England in 1884 were 7s. 9d. per quarter 

 from Calcutta, 6s. Sd. from Bombay, and some- 

 what higher from Kurrachee. The normal 

 wheat area in India is supposed to be about 

 26,000,000 acres. In 1884-'85 there was a 

 somewhat larger area devoted to the crop. In 

 the Punjaub the acreage was 7,381,400 ; in the 

 Northwest Provinces and Oude, 5,298,026 ; in 

 the Central Provinces, 3,700,000 ; in Bombay, 

 2,670,000; in Berar, 819,057; in Behar, 850,- 

 000 ; in Rajpootana, 2,250,000 ; in Central In- 

 dia, 3,500,000 ; in Hyderabad, 750,000 ; in My- 

 sore, 21,740; in Cashmere, 500,000; in Baro- 

 da, 80,000. The crop was a fair average one, 

 but owing to the fall in price the exports 

 showed a great falling off. The total quantity 

 exported in 1881-'82 was 993,176 tons; in 

 1882-'83, 707,220; in 1883-'84, ' 1,047,824; in 

 1884-'85, 792,714. Indian wheat is coming 

 into use for Italian paste more than formerly, 

 and the exports to Mediterranean countries 

 show, consequently, the largest increase. The 

 annual yield in good years is about 7,500,000 

 tons. The area of wheat-culture can be ex- 

 tended and the yield increased by irrigation. 

 The famine commissioners estimated the total 

 extent of waste lands capable of cultivation in 

 British India at 100,000,000 acres. The intro- 

 duction of agricultural machinery is pronounced 

 impracticable. The land is divided up into 

 farms of about five acres, which are tilled in a 

 thorough manner with the primitive imple- 

 ments of the country. The wages of the In- 

 dian laborer are 7 to 10 cents a day. The 

 fertility of the soil could be increased by keep- 

 ing the cattle in a condition to stir up the soil 

 more deeply, and by restoring the manure to 

 the land instead of burning it for fuel. Not- 

 withstanding the cheapness of labor, the skill 

 of the Hindoo agriculturist, and the richness 

 of the soil, it is doubtful whether Indian wheat 

 can be sold in Europe as cheaply as Ameri- 

 can wheat. The railway and elevator systems 

 of the United States, and the well-organized 

 methods of business, are a great advantage to the 

 American producer. In India wheat is trans- 

 ferred on the backs of coolies, and a series of 

 middle-men absorb all the profits, unless prices 

 are very high. The Hindoo agriculturist is 

 ground down by the system of rent and land- 

 taxation. The recent activity of the Govern- 

 ment in constructing railroads and irrigation 

 canals is likely to cease for some time. 

 Finances. The closed accounts for 1883-'84 



