On the Conditions of Wheat-Groiving in India. 45 
his district liad been in reality what it was officially reported to 
have been, a large proportion of the population must have died 
of starvation — and this, too, in a district notorious for plenty, 
aud from which there has been for many years past a regular 
export of food grain of an exceptionally large amount. This ob- 
servation aroused the attention of the authorities, and instructions 
were accordingly issued that trial harvests were to be super- 
vised by high responsible European officers. Certain fields that 
had been cultivated by the owners were harvested in the pre- 
sence of the officer appointed to supervise the experiment in each 
district. A large number of these trial harvests have been 
made, the result being that the normal yield per acre has been 
determined with the utmost degree of accuracy. This has 
shown a considerable increase in the yield of every crop experi- 
mented with. 
In the Raipur district the results of five harvests gave a 
mean of 1,01:8 lbs. ; of seventeen harvests in Nimar, 902 lbs. ; 
and of thirteen in Narsinghpur, 647 lbs. The lowest yield 
was that of Hoshangabad, where the mean of four harvests was 
382 lbs. "Without going into this matter in great detail, it may 
be added that the opinions held, both by Government and the 
public, as to the low yield in the Central Provinces have been 
shown to have been founded on prejudiced returns. We have 
in connection with the Panjab referred to the difficulty experi- 
enced in getting the natives to furnish accurate information as 
to their profits. It may fully be anticipated that like results 
to the above will follow in Upper India wheu the Government 
feels called upon to direct test harvests to be made in the Panjab 
as have now taken place in the Central Provinces. We have 
given the yield in the Panjab as it is at present stated to be, 
but feel sure a higher average must prevail. Reverting to the 
yield in the Central Provinces, it may, in conclusion, be said 
that in Raipur the yield in the older reports is put down at 368 
lbs. (instead of what it has now been found to be, 1,048 lbs.), 
and in Narsinghpur at 200 lbs. (instead of 647 lbs.). These are 
test examples, and it may be inferred that in the poor districts 
the early records were found to be relatively more nearly correct 
than in the rich. Thus, for example, in Hoshangabad, instead 
of 382 lbs., the return was fixed at 328 lbs. 
The rents paid for wheat lands in these pro\"inces vary 
considerably, according to the nature of the soil and the facilities 
of export. The average in Hoshangabad is Ir. da. 3^)., in Saugor 
1/-. 14a., in Bilaspur 14a., in Jubbulpur 2rs. 4a. The effect of 
railways is nowhere more marked than in the Central Provinces. 
The peculiar wheats that are now grown are different from those 
of former days. It is well known thai 
