The Indian Wheat Trade, 
75 
" From recently publislied Consular Reports it appears that the agricul- 
ture of Russia is in a most depressed condition, caused by a continuous fall 
in the prices of almost all kinds nf agricultural produce, and the competition 
of America and India. Corn-growing has not paid, although the crops gener- 
ally were good in the years 1886 and 1887. It seems that it costs about 1/. Is, 
per acre to produce 'a crop of wheat, which is only about 8\ bushels per 
acre, taking the good and bad land together. The price of wheat was only 
about '2s. 7d. per bushel in 1887. ... As corn-production does not pay, and 
seems unlikely to pay, the Russian Agricultural Department has been con- 
sidering carefully the extension of cattle-breeding and rearing, with a view of 
exporting animals and meat to Western European countries." 
One of the reports referred to, previously marked for quota- 
tion, is that of Mr. Harford, of the British Embassy, St. Peters- 
burg, who has summarised the final report of the Russian Depart- 
ment of Agriculture for 1886 : — • 
" Next to the United States," he says, the Department considers India 
as Russia's most dangerous rival, not only as regards wheat, but for flax and 
linseed, the imports cf which two articles into England from India amounted 
in 188.5 to nearly 3,500,000/." 
After referring to the advantages of India, the Russian 
"Department quotes from a recently published work by Dr. J. 
Wolffe, representing the cost of putting a bushel of wheat on 
the London market as follows : — 
Iiulian wheat American ■n heat 
i. d. s. d. 
Cost of production , ; , . 1 7|^ 2 6 
Carriage by raUway ,,,.0 9 0 6^ 
Sea freight 0 7| 0 4^ 
Totals 2 ]ll§ 3 4| 
These figures are too low, unless they are intended to 
represent the lowest potential cost, and not the actual cost. 
Indian wheat has not yet been put on the London market at 
24s., and if American has been sold at 27.?. it has been at a loss 
to the growers. It may be possible to put Indian wheat on the 
London market at 2 is., if exchange, freights, and railway 
expenses should continue to fall; but at the present time, as 
pointed out on a preceding page, a price 8s. higher was not 
remunerative in February of the present year. As to America, 
sea freights have been lower than Dr. WolfFe states ; but it has 
already been shown that the production of wheat has declined, 
although as little as 2s. Gd. a bushel has never had to be accepted 
as the average farm price. 
As bearing upon the point just referred to, it is worth while 
to reproduce a table prepared for the C4old and Silver Commis- 
I sion by ^Iv. Comber, member of a firm of Liverpool and Bombay 
merchants, and a Monometallist, which shows, moreover, if 
the figures are even approximately correct, how far the reduc- 
tion in the cost of transport is from accounting for the fall in 
the price of wheat : — 
