St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-11-16
Upland Rice Cultivation.

am firm believer that upland rice can
be grown in Calcasieu parish successfully,
if the proper varieties are introduced, and
the proper attention given to the crop,
from the time it is sown until it is ripe.
This crop must be cultivated when young
to keep down the grass and weeds /; in fact,
it should he cultivated once week until it
is beyond all danger of blight.
1t requires special attention just before
it heads and while it is filling, if the
weather is dry and showers are not fire.
quent enough to furnish the moisture it
requires.
Some farmers claim that the white Hon
duras rice is as reliable as any other on
upland; but these hard working farmers
have learned that the best and most certain
crops are expensive to raise, while they
require lots Of work and, as natural con-
sequesVce, will not bother with uncertain
cropsAsquiring the same amount of work
and eyoense that the best crops do.
The majority of the heads of a crop Of
Honduras rice, grown on upland, will stand
as straight when ripe, as big city dude !;
but the regular variety of upland rice will
droop their heads when ripe, indicating
that they are well filed.
Many of our people believe that artesian
wells can be had in our parish. and, if SO,
the problem of rice growing will be solved
if we do not strike salt water but this is
not likely to be the case, from the fact that
water does not flow above its source.
If one should make an attempt to get a
flowing well and should fail, he would at
any rate, get supply Of water sufficient
to pay for putting in good steam or wind
pump, and in that way make success of
~ III
failed to furnish it the required moisture.
If people are shy about experimenting
and running risks, then they shall miss
some golden opportunities.
1t might be good policy to mediate on,
and reduce to practice the culture of up
land rice, and arrive at more complete
demonstrations, before we depend too
largely upon what others say concerning
| the drawbacks and advantages of this crop
Our low lands are better adapted to rice
than our uplands, but it is not every
| farmer who owns such land, and further
more, practical experience teaches US that
there are many obstacles in the way, where
! land has to be flooded, which continually
Injuries our crops. One of the pests which
is getting the upper hand of some of the
rice fields is water grass which seems to
| be as much of water plant as rice.
We are not troubled with this grass
where we do not flood the land, OF where
a cultivated crop is grown.
1t would be of untold value to many of
the hard working farmers of the Calcasieu
country if they could grow upland rice
successfully, for many of them are with
out natural rice fields.
We have thousands of acres of beauti-
full prairie lands in Calcasieu parish wait
ing for willing and energetic ha,.ds to
tickle it with a pillow, and l believe the
time is not far away in the future when
our handsome prairie farms will be hand
somely decorated with large ripe fields of
upland rice, if our people will only intro
duce the proper varieties of rice for these
uplands. Never mind petting a water
plant on dry land, for it does not belong
there and some stage of it's growth is
bound TO be interfered with by changes of
The weather.
Some people are always wishing for
SUCCESS ard prosperity, and think their
nest would be fea,hered if they could only
grow this, or that or the other, or some
thing else, but never experiment with
different crops to see what the result
| would he.
/ Some people are always longing for
what they lave not, and ungrateful for
what they enjoy.
If some do not enjoy the privileges Or
advantages that others do, then they must
make them in some way. If we do not
/ experiment with our different crops, we
will not be any improvement over the past
! generation.
There are places in the South where
large quantities of upland rice are grown,
aud where the soil is inferior to ours, and
where it is sandy and billy, and if the
farmers in such sandy, billy country
lived on our fine prairies, they would think
they owned the Garden of Eden, and would
soon become wealthy, growing the proper
varieties of upland rice.
Try several varieties of rice on upland
and learn which will do the best, all
things being considered.
There is something in our soil worth
having or striving for, and we had better
get it out, rather than sell out and throw
up the sponge, and let others begin where
we left off and make a grand success of
some crop which we thought would not
grow, but never tried it to find out.-R.
s. SfRdard, Jennings, La.
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