The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-10-02
over lightly. IF the land is cold or wet,

cover lightly. If the land is cold or wet,
throw up in beds the same as for cotton,
and plant on the bed. The after culture
is with the side harrow and sweep and
the hoe-just sufficient to destroy weeds
and grass. There is no grain that tillers
so much as rice. I have watched a hill
this season which came up single blade
and now has ninety-one stalks. 1t may
be doubted, however, if it is desirable to
encourage tillering by thin planting. 1t
seems probable that when enough seed
are used to produce at once all the stalks
the land should bear, the rice will head
out and ripen with more uniformity and
that is matter of not little importance.
Rice may be planted in middle South
Carolina as late as the last week in May
on cold lands, or as early as corn, than
which it is little more subject to injury
from frost latter it has come up) where
the soil is warm. The critical period is
when it is in the sprout. Too much cold
and moisture at that time will cause the
sprout to rot and destroy the germ. I
have known seed to lie in the ground for
month, and, when they did not sprout,
make good stand. But if you find your
seed have sprouted and the blade does
not appear in few days, the sooner you
plant over the better. To avoid this diff
ficulty, the covering should be done very
lightly. This is one of the essential
points in planting. Rice will not come
up we'll if covered deep, and especially if
the earth is pressed upon it, differing Gu.
riyusly in this respect from nearly all
other seed.
THE YIELD.
Several years ago the Georgia State
Fair gave prize to planter of South
west Georgia for an acre of rice which
yielded ninety-three bushels. The land
was described as pine land, which had
been cow-penned. I have known an
average of sixty-four bushels per acre
gathered from twenty-one acres. A
neighbor claims last year forty bushels
from half acre, and Six hundred and
thirty from thirteen acres. With the ex-
ception of one year, when, from excessive
heat and drought the crop was almost
complete failure, l have averaged forty
to forty-fve bushels, with maximum on
one acre of sixty-six. In these last in
stances the land planted was strong
black loan, we'll adapted to rice.
EXHAUSTION, ROTATION, MANUREs.
1t is often asked, "Is rice an exhaus-
tive crop?" A personal experience of
only few years hardly authorizes one to
answer this question positively. Un-
questionably rice, like many other plants,
grows better on land which has been rest
ing, or after other crops. Rotation with
ploughed crops performs special service
in cleaning the land of volunteer"
which comes wherever rice is planted
continuously. On fresh lands rice does
excellently, and I have seen respectable
crops made on first years new ground,
even before the large trees had died. On
the other hand, have very good rice on
land which has been planted in it for
three years and on neighboring place
the seventh successive crop, in as many
years, promises well; in each instance
no manure has been used. 1t is curious
fact, if it be fact, that guano, the phos
pilates, and cotton seed, applied in the
drill after the manner for cotton, do not
benefit. Yet a number of experiments
which 1 have made this year seem to in
dicate it.-Aiken Journal and Revie,O.