56 THE FARMER'S OUTLOOK 



The chief wheat areas are distributed as fol- 

 lows :— „ „ 



Percentage Percentage 



of cropped of Indian 



area under area under 



wheat. wheat. 



Punjaub 33% 29% 



United Provinces . . . . 20 % 27 % 



Central Provinces and Berar 16 % 1 1 % 



The proportion of the crop produced under 

 irrigation of some kind or another is also an inter- 

 esting point. In the Punjaub and the Central 

 Provinces approximately half is grown by irriga- 

 tion. It is noticeable that even irrigated areas 

 are favourably affected by good seasons. 



The conditions under which wheat is grown in 

 India resemble those ruling in Russia on many 

 points. In both, the peasant is poor. In Russia, 

 rye is the staple breadstuff. Only in the Pun- 

 jaub is wheat an important breadstuff. Wheat 

 is grown largely for export. The area under this 

 crop is only a small proportion of the total pro- 

 duction of food grains. It acts as a reserve in 

 case of a crop failure of the other food grains. 



The wide variations in wheat exports unaccom- 

 panied by a corresponding increase or decline in 

 production — a feature common to Indian and 

 Russian exports — is thus explained. Another 

 point should be borne in mind ; though Indian 

 wheat is a comparatively recent source of the 



