[PART IT.
and furthermore it is not affected by pests and diseases to the extent
that other crops are. Hardly anything more will be said about Barley
in this paper. It should be understood, however, that whenever, in
the course of the succeeding pages, it is suggested that Wheat should
be grown (as a rotation for example) what is really meant is’ that
wheat should be grown on the wheat soil sand bariey on the barley
soils, unless the barley soils are properly manured for wheat.
In stating that the climate of the highlands is everywhere
suited to barley, two reservations should be made. Tt is likely that in
some parts of the lower altitude districts the climate is rather too
hot and in other parts that the rainfall is not sufficiently prolonged.
In respect of these two conditions, wheat has the advantage over
Barley.
Wheat can be grown all over the highlands, though it is chiefly
grown in those districts in which maize cannot be grown with much
success. The districts where wheat is the chief cereal are those over
7,000 feet, such as the Mau and Solai Escarpments, and the Timboroa
and Londiani districts, and those under 7,000 feet with two rainy
seasons, such as Machakos, and West and North Kenya. With the
varieties at present in use, wheat yields up to about 10 bags of 2001bs.
nett per acre, even with only 15ins. of rain on the crop. Conditions
must be ‘good for such a yield and perhaps 7 or 8 bags as an average
is a more reasonable expectation. Hven 7 bags per acre compares
very favourable with any country in the world except England and
Germany.
There were in 1925 about 25,000 acres under wheat. The
wheat lands of the Colony give excellent quality grain. The total
production is. consumed locally (in fact, half the requirement in flour
has still to be imported from India), so that, in conjunction with a
high import duty, the price of wheat is very high, being at the present
day actually 28/- a bag f.o.r. In view of the fact that production is
likely soon to be in excess of local requirements calculation of profits
on wheat growing should be based on a price not exceeding 20/- per
bag.. At 7 bags to the acre, and at 20/- per bag, the gross return per
acre is 140/-. Taking the cost of production at £2 per acre, and the
cost of bags and transport at 8/- per bag, the net profit per acre is
£4. These figures are again only very approximate, but they show
the possibilities of wheat growing in the Colony; and if the yield were
raised to 10 bags per acre, the profit would be £7 per acre.
In discussing profits per acre both in regard to maize and wheat
it should be realised that the price of land in this country is very
much lower than in a country such as England, being indeed about
a quarter the price, so that if yields are at all comparable, then the
profits per acre in this country will be considerably larger than in
England.
It will be noticed that the profits per acre in wheat seem likely
to be larger than in maize. Wheat has further this advantage over
maize, that it requires less labour for handling it. Wheat is handled
almost entirely by machinery, whereas maize is harvested by hand.
There are machines for harvesting maize, but they are not altogether
satisfactory, and with most machines there is still the problem of the
disposal of the maize stalks to be tackled. There is no question that
it 1s certainly as profitable to grow 7 bags of wheat to the acre as
14 bags of maize. The higher price of seed wheat is offset by the
fact that the cost of bags and transport of wheat is, under the
condition stipulated. half that of maize.

UN