The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-10-07
Egyptian Rice Corn.

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article telling of the very many excellent
qualities of what is called the Egyptian
Rice Corn" as grown in Kansas. I
thought to investigate and learn more
about it and see if it would not prove a
boon in our own State, and wrote the
agricultural department of Kansas and
obtained their quarterly report, giving
the results of it's culture in some twenty
ty odd counties, by different parties,
and under various kinds of soil, work,
tillage and circumstances, and, taking
these reports as whole, the rice corn is
certainly most valuable addition to our
cereals, and will, as fast as tried and
known, largely take the place of our corn
crop. This rice corn is not a maize, but
species of sorghum or douro, growing its
seed on its top or head, each seed exposed,
only covered loosely with its husks; it is
a small, fiat, round, white seed, about the
size of a grain of barley. Its qualities
are such as to take the place of corn for
all purposes; for feeding stock it is not
so heating as corn, but more of the flesh
making qualities, approaching to wheat
and rye. Hogs fatten on it rapidly and
form a fine quality of pork, aud chickens,
&C., flourish splendidly, better than on
corn. For bread and cakes it is in all
respects the full equal of corn, and in
some points it is superior, making white
-four of high nutritive properties. In
weight it is sixty pounds to the bushel,
and, from what I can Judge by these nu.
merous reports, it will yield an average
of fifty per cent. more per acre than maize
corn on the same ground and tillage. In
its growth it is smaller than the Dent
corn, can be planted closer together, and
will grow, if anything, with less care, and
thus in quality and growth fully the equal
of corn but its great and best quality
is that it is practically drought proof,
that it will thrive, grow, flourish and ma
ture its crop during seasons so dry that
corn shrivels and dies by the side of it.
For few years past, in some portions
of cur State, the corn crop has been cut
off entirely or seriously injured by the
drought, while, had rice corn been plant.
ed, no loss. would have occurred; and, as
our planters and farmers as rule plant
mostly for home use; they would have q
better article and surer crop.
In these Kansas reports I see no men,
ton of the "fodder crop" of the rice corn,
but, as that is one of secondary impor-
tance in our Western sister State, it
would be overlooked, but mention is
made that the stalks used for fuel we're
better than those of corn; but in my ex-
pertinent here at Aiken, S. O., have
found new addition to the value of this
rice corn, which have growing in my
garden, and also out in open field culture
so as to give it fair test. Wfth me it
was planted very late and under adverse
circumstances, and passed through the
extreme dry spring, yet it has made fair
growth and is maturing quite large crop
of the seed rice corn. At first ii sent up
but single leaf starting its stalk very
slender and spindling. and making no
show except as it heads out and perfects
its crop of seed; then, when our maize
corn dries up and dies, I find in my
grounds the rice corn starts up into new
life, and is now filling out with new
shoots and sprouts, probably from four to
| SAN> W. NtsNAA AOos1 ouo P'0AA'othS Aoe ouIJ
a second crop of seed corn, but also very
heavy fodder crop this fall probably four
times the worth of fodder that would be
gathered from corn on same ground. On
trying these stalks, old and new, find
my cows eat it with great relish, leaf and
stalk, leaving not particle of waste.
Taking all these points into considera-
tion, to my mind it presents value far
in advance of the maize corn crop in
years of good seasons and crops, and in
times of drought and long dry seasons ii
is sure and certain, while our Dent corn
may be partial or complete failure. !
trust our farmers and planters will one
and all try few acres Of this rice corn
the coming season, give it fair test, and
judge of its merits for themselves.
have nearly an acre of it now growing
and am more and more pleased with It
every days. orr, Aiken, S. c., in STATE
agricultural Circular.