The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1879-09-26
THE CULTIVATION OF UPLAND RICE,

quest OF the Grcenville Enterprise and
1Ho"ntoinccr, republished in your paper.
and in giving whatever information | can
to those who desire to plant rice on our
upands:
SEED.-Thcro arc two varieties of rice,
namely, gold rice, which grows only with
water culture, and white rice, which
may be grown with either wet or dry
culture.
Of the latter have planted three dis
tinct sub-varictics, and there arc, probably,
several others. The hardest and most pro.
ductive is Il fiat rice, known under several
names-Guinea, Gopher, Bull head, &C.,
&c. Owing to the peculiar form of the
grain, it is not adapted to the machinery in
the pounding mills, and the millers have
found it to &c so troublesome to prepare for
market that they decline to work it on toll.
This greatly dimiuishes its value as a mar
ket crop.
Two years ago [ bought seed from the
West Indies. The plant grows larger and
more luxuriantly than our native kinds, re.
sists drought and heat better, does not fall
or lodge, is fairly productive, and the grain
of the first quality. 1t is, however, pccu-
liarly susceptible to the influence of cold,
and liable to rot ain the sprout," while it
requires fully two weeks longer to mature.
These arc objections which become very
serious where tho lands are cold or the sea-
son short.
The third variety is the ordinary white
rice, commonly found in the markets, and
familiar to all who have had much to do
with rice.
1t is important that the planter should
get good seed; and what the rice planter
means by good seed is simply sound, well
ripcncd seed, free from mixture with volun.
teer rice. Volunteer rice is red rice, and
its presence I'M ures the market value but
worse than that, it ripcns sooner than the
other rice, and fall, out, causing in this way
often the loss of considerable per centago
of the crop.
KINDS OF SoIL.-Ricc may be grown,
but will IL OF fruit well, on very light soils
IL prefers moist loans and the lighter clays
The soil along our rivers, creeks, and
branchcs-mud bottoms, marsh lands when
drained and not too much inclined to peat,
and second lowands, if not too stiff-arc
well adapted to it. 1t can be grown and
sometimes with favorable seasons very sue
cessiully, on high dry uplands of good quail
ity, but its culture there is hardly to be
recommended.
CULTURE.-The culture is almost ident-
cal with that Of cotton Pulverize the
ground well with the plough and harrow
When the time has come for planting, run
off shallow furrows with light shovel
plough three and a half feet apart If the
land is warm and dry, drop in the furrow
in hills eighteen inches apart, from ten to
HIfnnn cnnl tn ho Mn A.
strength Of the soil and 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 ana the hoc-just sutf
ccnt to destroy weeds and grass.
There is no grain that tillcrs so much as
rice. | have watched n hill this season
which came up single blade and now has
nincty-onc stalks. 1t may be doubted.
however, if it is desirable to encourage til
lcring by thin planting. 1t seems proba-
bic that when enough seed arc used to pro-
ducc at once all the stalks the land should
bear, the rice will head out and ripcn with
more uniformity and that is n 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, (altcr it has come up) whcr, 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. L have known seed to
lie III the ground for month, and, when
they did not sprout, mako good stand
But if you find your seed have sproutcd
and the blade does not appear in few days,
the sooner you plant over the better TO
avoid this difficulty, the covering should be
done very lightly. This is one of the cs>
scntial points in planting. Rice will not
come up well if covered deep, aud cspcci.
ally if the earth is pressed upon it, differing
curiously in this respect from nearly all
other seeds
TIE YIELD.-Scvcral years ago the
Georgia State Fair gave prize to a plan.
tct Of Southwest Georgia for an acre olrcc
which yielded ninety three bushels. The
land was described as pine land which had
been .pcnncd. | have known an aver.