The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-09-04
Mr., Paul T. Hammond on Rico as an Up
Country Crop.

The somewhat numerous experiments
with upland rice in Aiken County prom
ise well at this date. AS it is new crop
to most Of those planting it, some facts
TAUGHT mo by my experience with 1T for
the last five years may be of interest and
service.
WHEN TO CUT.
Unlike oats and wheat, rice should not
DO reaped until it is fully ripe. II cut
rrcc;l it is hard to cure and liable to heat
in tho house or stock; tho grain Will ho
light and soft, break and waste in
pounding, and make al inferior grain
for tho market. AT the Same time there
will be greater difficulty in threshing
and considerable percentage left in tho
straw.
Rice is fully ripe only when tho lowest
grains in the head have passed through
the 7lilk state, and arc hard or harden
ing A want of observance OF this TACT
will entail great loss.
HOW TO HARVEST.
Rico is cut with the rice hook or sickle,
which may be had from any Of the hard
ware merchants in Charleston and a few
in Augusta. 1t should be cut about
eight inches above tho ground and laid
in loose parcels with tho heads resting
OIL tie stubble. 1t must be handled very
gently as waste is now to be met at every
Step. If we'll ripened twelve hours sun
will cure it, and then it is tied in bundles,
and shocked in tho field. The shocks
should stand two or three days, ana may
be let as many weeks.
Our upland rice does not ripen equally,
that is, all at the same time, more espec-
ially where it is planted in upland. In
cutting the green hills should be passed
over and left to ripon. This is fact that
must be observed, or else your. whole
crop will be damaged for the market i,
On tho coast l was told that hand
would cut an acre of one hundred and
seventy rows of drilled rice in day and
was paid dollar for it. Our rice, with
only sixty-tive or seventy rows to tho
acre, is, OF course, much easier to cut.
But our hands arc less expert, and l
have found it difficult to average over a
half acre to the hand.
TuREsHING.
Most OF the rice in the low country is
thrcShcd with the fail, machinery being
considered too expensive for any but the
largest planters. There, it is said,
hand will clean twenty to twenty-five
bushels per pay. But our hands want
training in this kind of work, and l was
glaG when got an average of five BUSH
els To the hand. For the last three years
have only cleaned seed rice in this way,
and for the bulk of the crop used tho
wheat thresher. The difficulty with that
is, that if run up to full speed it breaks
and hulls tho rice to 4 ruinous extent,
and if not run at a good speed leaves too
much grain in the straw. arranged my
power to give the machine little more
than half the number Of revolutions or,
dinarily used for small grain. Tho yield
was about twenty-five bushels per hour,
without much breaking, and with little
grain left in the straw. 1t is essential that
the rice should bo dry, and it is much
better tc do the work in cold and windy
weather. After thrcShing, the rice may
be cleaned with the ordinary grain fam,
or by pouring from scatlold twenty feet
higE which is much tho quickest and
bost plan when there is pretty sltff
breeze.
The cheapest thresher made expressly
for rice, now in the market, costs SooO
and requires Il ten horse power engine 10
drive it. The agent i'll Charleston estl-
mated the entire cost put up on the PLAN
tation Mt 81 $50, while the capacity IS only
GOU bushels per diem. There is another
and much cheaper machine about to be
brought out by Louisville firm.
HOW TO MARKET.
Ifyou have rs much rs fifty bushels
send it to mills, have it pounded, and
sell the clean rice. This applies to tile