INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change

212 PREVENTIVE AND
India may be here shortly described from an
agricultural point of view. Unlike the rainfall
in England, where it comes more or less
regularly throughout the whole year, India
depends on seasonal rains of short duration,
where the difference, of two or three days of
total want, or it may be two or three days of a
deluge-whereby a considerable amount of the'
total annual fall is thereby diverted from its
proper duty - may affect the produce of the
crops to such a degree that the result will be a
scarcity or famine. The climates of India and
England are utterly different. Our general
complaint at home is not a want of rain, but of
sunshine; even in any year where there is a
peculiar want of the latter, there is always a degree
of warmth present-obtained among other
sources from the Gulf Stream-which, added to
a few days of sunshine, materially assist to
ripen the crops, and make a considerable portion
of the produce available; whereas, a few days'
rain in India, which correspond to our few days'
sunshine at home, would be totally useless.
It is not necessary here to enter into detail
of schemes for extending irrigation canals. It