Commercial Geography / A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges

by Jacques W. Redway

The articles grown for export are jute, cotton, opium, oil-yielding seeds, tea, and opium. No meat is exported, but hides form a large item of foreign trade.

The jute is used in the manufacture of rugs and grain-sacks. It is cultivated mainly in the delta-lands of the Ganges-Brahmaputra. A considerable part of the product is now manufactured in India and in China; some is also shipped to California, to be made into wheat-sacks; perhaps the larger part is sent to Dundee, Scotland, where it is woven into textile fabrics. The choicest product is used to mix with silk fibre, or is employed in the manufacture of rugs and coverings.

Cotton cultivation is rapidly taking first rank among the industries of India, for which the conditions of soil, climate, and market are admirably adapted. India stands second in cotton-growing, and the area of production is gradually increasing. Most of the crop is exported to Europe for manufacture, although there is an increasing amount sold to Japan. Great Britain is the largest purchaser, and the cotton goods manufactured at Manchester are reshipped in large quantities to India.

Owing to the low wages paid for labor both in the fields and the mills, cotton manufacture is a rapidly growing industry in India. In many cases the yarn is manufactured in India and then sent to China to be made into coarse cloth. Some of the mills are equipped with machinery made in the United States.

Tea has become one of the most important crops of India. It is grown mainly in Ceylon and Assam, and is said to have grown wild in the latter state. The quality of Indian tea is regarded as superior to the Chinese product, and Indian teas have therefore very largely supplanted those of China, in British consumption.

Silk cultivation and manufacture have been growing rapidly in the past few years; a considerable part of the product is "tussar," or wild silk. The silk rugs of India are not equalled anywhere else in the world. Wool is a product of the mountain-regions, but is almost wholly used in the manufacture of rugs and coverings.

The British occupation of India is commercial rather than political. India furnishes a most valuable market for British manufactures; it supplies the British people with a large amount of raw material for manufacture. The general government is administrative only so far as the construction of railways, irrigating canals, and harbors, and the organization of financial affairs are concerned.

There are about two hundred and fifty native states included within the territory of British India. In addition to the native ruler, a British governor or magistrate carries out the administrative features of the British Government. For administrative purposes most of the native states are grouped into eight provinces, or "presidencies."

Bengal.—The states of Bengal, mainly in the valley of the Ganges River, produce most of the rice and wheat. Calcutta, the capital of the empire, is a comparatively young city. The Hugli at this point is navigable both for ocean and river craft. The situation of the city is much like that of New York, and it is therefore finely adapted for commerce. Railways extending from the various food-producing districts and from other centres of commerce converge at Calcutta. The city is not only the centre of administration, but the chief focus of commerce and finance as well.

Bombay.—Bombay includes a number of states bordering on the Arabian Sea. The city of Bombay is built on an island of the same name. Its situation on the west coast makes it the most convenient port for the European trade that passes through the Suez Canal. The opening of the route gave Bombay a tremendous growth, and it is destined to become a great commercial factor in Indian Ocean trade. It is also a great manufacturing centre for cotton textiles. Ahmedabad, an important military station, is also an important centre of cotton manufacture and wheat-trade.