88 CEREALS 



The supply of barley in the United Kingdom was still 

 further curtailed, and the home market became sensitive 

 to any actual shortage. Such a shortage appeared in 

 1911, when it was found that drought had affected certain 

 European crops, that England's crop showed a large 

 reduction, that America had little barley to spare, and 

 that other sources in the Near East (with the exception 

 of Tunis and Algeria) were not sellers. Whereas the 

 price of barley was to the price of wheat in the two years 

 1909-10 and 1910-11 as 72 is to 100, in 1911 the ratio rose 

 to 82 per cent. Such an approximation of price reduces 

 considerably the temptation to ship excess barley in 

 Indian wheat. It is not surprising that Indian barley 

 has found a ready market and that her exports have 

 increased. 



But it is to be noted that India would probably not 

 have been able to cut into this trade if she had not 

 adopted the new form of wheat contract in 1907. And 

 it is probable that the establishment of Indian barley on 

 the home markets, in so far as it affords a regular outlet, 

 will definitely fix the practice of shipping" wheat free from 

 barley. How far it may abate the practice of sowing 

 the two grains together remains to be seen. But in 

 January, 1914, I was present at a Conference which the 

 Director of Agriculture in the Punjab had with the Indian 

 wheat merchants at Lyallpur on the subject of their using 

 the elevator at that place, and I was greatly surprised 

 to hear them, express perfect willingness to work on only 

 two grades one white and one red both free from 

 barley. 



There have been complaints about the presence of 

 perished grains in the barley shipments. Such a con- 

 dition in barley is usually the result of fermentation 

 caused by excessive moisture. The fact that Indian 

 barley is grown along with a more valuable crop whose 

 condition decrees the time of cutting may possibly lead 

 to premature harvesting of the barley. But I doubt 

 whether there is much in this, for the barley tends to 

 mature earlier than wheat. It is, in fact, probable that 

 some perished grain has always been present in Indian 

 barley, but that the complaint now finds voice for the 



