210 



will demonstrate our poor appreciation of the vast 

 superiority of this climate for the economical feed- 

 ing and clothing of the human family, over that of 

 the greater part of Europe. 



In Europe only one crop of wheat can be raised 

 in twelve months ; but in India, where irrigation 

 is available, wheat sown in December is ready for 

 cutting by the middle of May. A good crop of 

 hay may then be reaped in July, followed by a crop 

 of peas which could be harvested in October, after 

 which the ground may be prepared for wheat, or a 

 rotation of wheat and cotton might be adopted. 



Sufficient justice has never been done to the vast 

 agricultural resources of India. While the mean 

 temperature of England is so low that Indian-corn 

 will not ripen, in India a crop of wheat may be 

 grown in the winter, and nearly two crops of Indian 

 corn successively in the summer and autumn, 

 before it is time to sow wheat again. 



But there is much of Indian soil that is not rich in 

 the elements of bread. Nothing but the careful 

 study of these elements, and of the natural laws 

 governing them, can remedy defects in wheat- 

 culture anywhere, but especially of course on very 

 poor land. 



All alkaline minerals, such as potash, soda, lime, 

 ammonia, and magnesia, hasten the solution of 

 the several insoluble compounds of silica in the soiL 

 This fact should be remembered by every farmer. 



