Harvest and Crop Reports. 



543 



previous year, which was exceptionally dry. There were, how- 

 ever, large decreases in Berar and the Deccan districts of 

 Bombay, where the cultivation of wheat is reported to be 

 declining as the result of the unfavourable seasons of recent 

 years ; and in Sind, owing to very low inundation, the area was 

 reduced to 28 per cent, below the average. Elsewhere in Bom- 

 bay, especially in the Gujarat States, there was an improvement, 

 so although the reports were incomplete and sowings still in 

 progress, the total area for the Presidency, including Sind, 

 exceeds by about 100,000 acres the final returns for last year. 

 The condition of the crops was generally good, but rain was 

 much needed throughout Upper India, and the prospects of the 

 crop on unirrigated lands were dependent on its timely arrival. 



Crops in Argentina. 



According to information received through the Foreign Office 

 the wheat and linseed crops in the Consular District of Rosario, 

 Argentine Republic, have given very satisfactory yields this 

 season. A larger area was devoted to maize than usual, and 

 the harvest of this crop, which is now proceeding, is expected 

 to be excellent both as regards quantity and quality. It is 

 estimated that 600,000 tons of wheat, 300,000 tons of linseed, 

 and 1,000,000 tons of maize will be available for export from 

 this district during the current year. 



In a later report from H.M. Consul at Buenos Ayres, it is 

 stated that, according to estimates published by the Argentine 

 Ministry of Agriculture, the area sown with wheat in the four 

 provinces of Buenos Ayres, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, and Cordoba 

 in the year 1902-3 was 9,000,000 acres, the production being 

 computed at 3,100,000 tons, while for the rest of the Republic 

 the production is placed at 100,000 tons, making a total product 

 of 3,200,000 tons. The yield of linseed is stated to have been 

 774,000 tons. The general opinion is, however, that the yields 

 of the crops have been somewhat over-estimated. Wheat is 

 expected to be of excellent quality, but much of the linseed 

 has been damaged and stained by rains at harvest time. 



