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

Last April came across newspaper
article telling of the very many excellent
qualities of what is called the s'Egyptian
hlce Corn" as grown in Kansas. /
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 its culture in some twenty
ty odd counties, by different parties,
and under various kinds of soil, work,
tiilage 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 maize, but
a species OF sorghum or douro, growing its
seed on its top or head, each seed exposed,
only covered loosely with its husks :; it is
small, fiat, round, white seed, about the
size of q grain of barley. Its qualities
are such as to take the place of corn for
all purposes; for feeding stock it is not
30 heating as corn, but more of the flesh
making qualities, approaching 10 wheat
and rye. Hogs fatten on it rapidly and
form fine quality Of pork, and 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
Hour of high nutritive properties. In
weight it Is sixty pounds to the bushel,
and, from what can judge by these nu.
merous reports, it will yield on average
OF nifty per cent. more per acre than maize
corn on the same ground and tillage. In
its growth it is smaller than the Dent
corn, caa 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 1t will thrive, grow, flourish and ma
ture It's crop during seasons 80 dry that
corn shrivels and dies by the side Of it.
For o few years past, in some portions
OF our State, the corn crop has been cut
OH entirely or seriously injured by the
drought, while. had rice corn been plant.
ed, no less would have occurred; aud, as
our planters and farmers as rule plant
mostly LOT home use, they would have o
better article and surer crop.
In these Kansas reports see no men
ton of the "fodder crop" of the rice corn.
but, as that is one of secondary imnor.
tance in our Western sister State. it
would be overlooked, but mention is
made that the stalks used for fuel were
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 nv
garden, and also out in open field culture
so as to give IL fair test. With ME il
was planted very late and under adverse
circumstances, and passed through the
extreme dry spring, yet IL has made fair
growth and is maturing nnite large crof,
of the seed rice corn. at first il sent up
but single leaf starting its stalk very
slender and spindling, and making no
show except as it heads ont and perfects
its crop of seed then, when our maize
corn dries up and dies, I find in nv
grounds the rice cnrn s..s.::..s ::;;; ;to new
life, and is now filling out with new
shoots and sprouts, probably from four to
Blk to each root, and promising not only
second crop of seed corn, but also very
heavy ioGder 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, I find
my cows eat it with great relish, leaf and
stalk, leaving not particle of waste.
| Taking ell these points into considera-
tion, to my mind it presents n value far
in advance of the maize corn crop in
years of good eeasans and crops, and in
times of drought and long dry seasons it
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 a fair test, and
judge OF its merits for themselves. I
have nearly an acre of IL now growing.
| and am more and more pleased with It
every days. Orr, Aikea, s. c., in State
Agricultural Cfrcula7.