Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-10-25
Rice Fields.

4 southern correspondent OF the Syra-
cuse Courier writes of the rice lands:
There Is a belt of land stretching from
Virginia down the coast TO the Gulf of
Mexico, and most of the distance it lies
very low. very little above the level of the
ocean. aud some of It is covered with wa
ter, at every high tide. The greater por-
ton Of this land may properly be called
swamp land-nOt altogether given up to
the domain of the water, but always damp,
ard too wet for any grain except rice. 1t
Is not every swamp or wet piece of land
that Is fit for the cultivation of the rice.
The alluyial swamps lyingalong the banks
of rivers. having deep soil, composed OF
deeaved vegetables, is best fitted for the
purpose. but 1t must be 50 located that 1t
can be overdowed at high tide, or it Is
useless for the purpose. The lands must
also be protected from the salt water, and
from the rapid currents occasioned by
freshets. South Carolina Is the great rice
State, more being cultivated than in all the
United States beside. The rivers flowing
down from the table land of the interior
reach this low land, and force themselves
TO the sea, spreading and forming broad,
deep channel. There Is a volume of water
suff eient. 30 that the tide will cause 1t to
set back for many miles. Along many of
these ravines the land Is as level as the
sea, and It can be flooded at pleasure.
Gates are constructed through artificial
embankments along the banks of the river,
and when the tide Is high the water Is let
in, aud the lands flooded and the gates
closed. When 1t becomes necessary to
draw the water of, the gates are opened
at low tide Some of these fields are very
large and interesting when being prepared
for a crop, and are very beautiful when the i
rice comes up through the water and shows
its neeileike spears. These fields must
have secure emoankment along the river, /
aud must be thoroughly drained by artii- I
cial channels, 80 as TO take the water /
entirely away when necessary. In large /
fields some Of the channels have capacity /
enough to float a hat-bottomed boat, which /
Is used to convey the harvest to the place
of storage.
The land Is plowei il winter, and in
the first warm days in spring Is flooded. +
Toe preparation of the ground commences I
in March. The ground is made as mellow +
As 4 garden. The seed Is soYn IN trench /
about three bushels of seed to an acre. The I
seed is lightly covered with the soil, and .
the water let in, to remain about week,
by which time the grain sprouts, when the
water Is drawn of hut when the grain is
but few inches above the ground 1t Is
again flooded for four or FIVE days, and /
then drawn of, aud the grain Is then allowed /
to grow for four OF FIVE weeks, when /
it is cultivated and the ground thoroughly
stirred and then the water Is let on, and
is flooded for a few days, and then
gradually drawn down and again cultivat-
ed: and after the second cultivation the /
water is again let on to remain until the |
crop natures, which takes about two /
months, when the water Is drawn of, and |
it Is harvested very much as we harvest
buckwheat The crop in favorable
season is a profitable one. The grain Is
threshed and cleaned in mills. 1t is fre-
quently sent to market before the hulls are
There are extensive mills at
Liverpool and New York for hulling the
rice. and they enable the dealer to put 1t
on the market fresh and white. There are
mills at Savannah and Charleston, where
the rice is hulled for the local market. The
best hulling machines cost from S15, 900 to
$4,000 and have very intricate machine
~. The rice before being hulled is called
poddy. The machine takes of the .hulls
and asserts the grain. After the hulls are
removed, it is moved out on inclined
screens, which are fine at first, and all the
small and broken rice passes through, and
then little coarser, and the rice called
'middling rice drops through, and last the
Prince rice. The latter quality is passed |
through another screen, which is called |
polishing, and in that process is swept |
clean and bright Rice is cultivated in |
all the warm countries of the world, and is |
used for food by more people than any
other cereal except wheat. 1t is cultivated
very extensively in the East Indies and
along the coast. where the lands are
marshy, it is the only crop raised. 1t is
staple crop in Africa. the south of Europe,
North and South America. Ceylon produ-
ces large quantity in excess of consump-
tion. There are several varieties, some OF
which grow on dry land, but the Carolina
or water rice, as it is called, is as fine as
any in the world. 1t grows very rapidly,
and is often six feet high. When it is
sufficiently high to cover and hide the wa
ter it presents a beautiful sight.