The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-10
RICE BIRDS GO HUNGRY.
TRICRED M THE NEW SCHEME OF
PLANTERS IN THE SOUTH.

Observation-Disclosures of tho Negro Field
Notwithstanding of Existence.
There ls probably no other task that chimes
In so we'll with tho workers inclination md Is
so nearly akin to fun as that Of the rice planta-
ton bird minders, commissioned to fire blank
charges Of %Runpowder over the fields and scare
AWAY the ricebirds 80 destructive to the crop.
These bird minders are always boys whose
eager delight in explosives can DO depended
on. and on big plantations where tho rice crop
| covers an area OF from 600to / 900 acres, and tho
number Of marksmen Is c~orrespondlnRly large.
q regular Fourth OF July fuslllade can be heard
on oil sides. In the generations since tho
coast planters began to grow rice they have
learned many things and instituted many i'm
provements tending to tighten the labor Of
cultivation and swell the profits. but at the
present time. Just "a It was years ago, there
are always these besetments TINT loom In the
way of success: the equinoctial gales, the
maggots. and the rice birds, and the worst Of
these are the rice birds.
Although when the gales once set in the
damage is widespread and not to be averted,
they do not come every year. nor as often as
every two or three years, The maRRotsc can be
warded of by giving close attention to the
water that floods the crop. changing 1t often,
keeping 1t pure, and so on, but the incursions
Of the birds are to be counted upon as regularly
tuCn bchSOu III JIt gram 10 pldIlttu, anu Ho
better defence against them has been devised
than arming the sun-proof pickaninny with
harmless explosives and posting him broad
cast over the field with instructions to keep his
eyes open and bang away continually at every
glimpse OF wings.
The ricebirds like the rice best when It Is
juicy. before the grain has toughened. They
prefer II as n beverage. not as dry food to be
pecked at with the bill, and q bird will perch on
a fat. promising stalk and hang to 1t and Triple
away until too full to fly. except by easy stages.
Then he can readily be knocked over with a
stick. 1t is at this very time OF the crops growth.
when the grain, as the planters say. is in milk
and most delectable and fattening to the rice
bird, that the little freebooter is especially
priced by epicures and becomes a noted and
hiRh-priced delicacy In the market. or late tho
astute rice planter. with senses primed for his
| advantage, has hit upon a scheme for partially
outwitting the birds. He plants his crop at other
than the usualtlme, so that it gets in milk either
before or after the birds have reason to expect
the feast. and accordingly at the time when they
flock thickest to the region things are not 30
much to their taste. and they partake less lib
orally. For instance. May was always the popu-
lar month for rice planting. and the birds. bas-
ing their calculations on experience. could
reckon to a nicely tho time when the grain
would be In the condition most palatable to
them, and govern their migrations accordingly.
The long-headed rice planter. in view Of this,
went out of the usual rut. He planted a part
OF his crop as early as the last Of March and all
| through April. but skipped over May. and
planted the rest in June The birds
came as usual that year. in the nick
Of time 10 catch the. May rice in milk. and
doubtless were surprised to find much Of the
grain already hardened, more than they liked
II, and the rest not yet in condition. Just how
long it will be before they get on to the game
and learn to plan their visitatiops earlier, or
l HSnn 50 sPG as to sob be in in the The field field m at th So EePy time n e
matter of speculation but they have not made
the correct CALCULATION yet, and It has come to
weather wei he or how convenient the conditfionss; and n
used. to in keeping the milk drinkers away.
1t is, not an easy thing to learn to be q sue
s Sstest. F TSe s srSp IS b ss miafnly t s'ff oof at i and ies
teresting at all stages, and 1t seems, simple
66nGp 4as d Ieifdf to and iq wait th th Sf hsry Ss ae esp of ths
now since the crop is cultivated SO largely by
a assa Z e" &c: sGTFRR IRs very y %sna sSSss r., Of az ne e
water, however. is one OF the most delicate Of
too ,mGc6 or too e@'' little d DEPTH. Of S"st too long 1s
staying on or Of too long driving out.
Experience is the only thing that counts in rice
growing, no matter how much crude science or
Then HfrsDf there eH aPe the iRHe Climate matt and n f the Isbor re eo 1edF:
tons to be taken into consideration. both things
to deter b t6S r tS%p s9iGinq fse f d9tIo stsrti SGm in: 40 no
start in. however, because within the past two
OF, three years rice property has, advanced in
broughtto market without loss from the storms.
pays the planter q handsome profit, That
man who, embarked in the business Wish
taSt a hse h s%cs stsyfSfl taxi 9Ste Of rd il s1S %nksf those
I'm done with rice" said a New Yorker
PFsssysd n With all the Beau %e and Ct Missionaries sdEsies; EhSs Il 5p a
planters life, invested In a flatlands plantation
a S,t few So sGHs0Gs ago and !o9pplly TelbinaHished i
last you must have lost a dozen fortunes at It,
tingencios to be borne in mind and counted on
tackled Ia iifS EF or thaf s anybody u " eisse " eVeF taeklssd. e Yon
would nfo not c6I think * that ! ANYTHING that seemed so
DO apparently is to turn the water on and
means Of the noodgstes that Work 50
with Intervals Of drying out and hoeing over.
The natives. who have It all at their fingers
harvest water, and it seems clear as dayand plain
those Hoodlngs get too, deep over the field by 50
much rs a hairs breadth. or let it not be deep
s sVS%f IT, R length %S ~" y q S9 day tSG and s&oR rs 9a ali fS SSe ,et Si RE
you. You hear then about the crop being
t dE5eT msSe 9gt' G %E the E fnte tie getting I66ts ahead he som or
such dire state, any one of which dooms your
prospects for the year. When it's too late you
discover that there are more points to learn
about rice than about any. other growing thing
under the sun, and what is more. that any. one
Of those web-footed. raw-boned field darkies
down there. with their slopinR. foreheads and
ape-like motions, Is, better informed on the
crop and its susceptibilities and aptitudes any
day than you would DO likely to be II you
In all stages Of development. from the time
the new grain first shows green along the
trenches until it waves in a breast-high
harvest or Is stacked out to cure. a carefully
tended rice field is an inspiring sight, suggest
ing at once the space and freedom OF the prairie
and the symmetry of regularly laid off ground.
When the rice Is young It looks like a promising
sheet OF green ipterspersed and bordcred with
silver, When the crop begins to head a downy
haze Is discerned over the field that glistens
when the sun strikes 1t, and that and the mild
luminousness that always hangs about the low
lands. the squat, lay-chimneyed cabins show
Ing out here and there In the background, and
the strong men and women. workers in tho
| fields. mnko n Dicturp distinct from othor n1ri