St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1892-03-26

In giving this sdvice. We do not
promise . fortune The first year. NOT
n several years, to every one who
adopes Tie advice. Neither do We |
sdviss any ose to drop IN otter |
csops and tasn ~ attention exclu-
stvely 10 rice culture. We do Of
fer It, however, after mature con-
sideration and study, ~ . partial
substitute for cotton, which al ID.
nit b proatless crop At current |
and prospective prices.
Tie psincipal requirements 10 b |
fulfilled In . crop that proposes 70
supplant cotton ere two: 1, . mar
ketable crop 1t good figures; ?, .
crop that can be raised upon large
proportion Of South Carolina soil.
10Th these conditions are .ful6lled
In rice. We think, In measures suf-
iicient 10 warrant the trial 1t least.
I. As to the first condition, It II
only necessary to state that the
production Of rice In the United
State b far below the requirements
Of the people for consumption.
This fact should insure . ready
market and . good price. That
clean rice does bear . good price.
seeds 20 proof with farmers who
bay the article for table use.
They know that every peck they
buy ut the stoces costs them from
90 to 100 cents. As good rice
turns out half In the beating. this
means that they are paying At the
rate Of two dollars per busheI
for rough rice; and when It
Is understood that the yield varies
from fifteen to sevcnty-iive bushels
per acre, It Is not hard to see that
there b . considerable margin AZ
ter paying for the beating and mar
keting.
Il should be stated, however, in
this connection, that the higher
yield referred to above 10 rarely
ever realized upon uplands, and
| then only when soil, cultivation and
season are In conjunction. In this
section Of the State, where no 1t
tensioa b given to fertilization and
the crop il limited to wet soils that
have been planted in rice for .
long time, the yield 10 about twenty
bushels.
2. Can rice be grown upon . con-
siderable portion Of land now dsvo-
| ted to cotton culture? This b .
more dilncult question to answer,
30 - not to mislead any one. Our
conviction b that Il can be 90 grown.
We have observed volunteer hills Of
rice very frequently in our cotton
and corn Aelds, and they have in
variably made good, heavy heads.
A neisboe's field that has been run
IN cotton exclusively for . long
time, and that IL moreover distinct
" highland, wen adapted to cotton,
vs. successfully cultivated In rice
long ago-indeed We have frequent-
II heard OF the wonderful rice made
On that field. These observations
lead ~ to conclude that rice may
b successfully grown upon . very
large potion Of the lands Of the
State heretofore run In cotton. At
any rate We were sufficiently inn
pressed with the probability Of sue
cess to set apart fUe that purpose,
some time ago, . poetioa Of the
area originally inteaded for cotton
this year.
A. to the time and method Of
planting. Select the land, giving
preference to lowlying lands and
bottoms. Prepare Il ~ II los cot
ton. The planting should begin
about the same time - corn OF .
little later. Having selected the
seed carfully, open the bed with
a cd bull.tongue OF the plow foot.
Then drop three to SIX grains At
Intervals Of fifteen 70 eighteen inch
e.. Brush over lightly with .
board fastened to pillow. BE care
fal not to cover too deep; and Il
packing rains come. Il may Be nec-
e.sary to run . light harrow o.
light rake over the beds vixen the
plants begin to come up. There b
more danger Of have too many
stalks than too few in . bin. Sub
sequent culture Is very similar to