The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-03-01

ditionst to wit: 4 large Gotten crop
! with c~orrespondingly low prices.
Tobacco is a crop that under certain
, conditions Will prove profitable. 1hls
crop. however. requires a great deal OF
care. vigilance and experience. Our
farmers are learning rapidly, but Will
. have to gain the experience of several
more wears Of tobacco cultivation before
they can expect much remuneration
from this product. At best, but a com-
partively small acreage can be devoted
70 this crop; as over-croppins a tobacco
crop would be Worse b 4 failure IN
other products, as neglect III any stage
OF its growth, curing or handling means
disaster.
The corn Of other cereal crops Except
ing rice), IS not profitable 10 grow Tor
market in this section, and these are on
~ advisable to raise IN sufflclent quanti-
ties for home cOnsumpt1On.
There is one crop which bids falr TO
be the most profitable one under e2-
sting conditions, and that rs the rice
crop: q crop which had SO little at
tention for a good many years-for rca-
sons easily explained. Statistics show that
the United States has only grown about
One-fourth Of the rice she consumes.
and of late years, barely O~ne-eight. One
reason is hat this crop can only be
grown in a small portion Of about four
States, to wit: North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana. IN
the second place, the low import duty
on rice for many years past made It
easy for China, Japan and other rice
growing countries to invade our mar
kets. and sell the article at such low
prices as to make it Improbable for our
farmers to compete with them.
Now the conditions are changed. Our
last Congress put a duty equal to ~
cents per bushel on rough rice. This,
with the freight charges from foreign
countries. will give our planters a pro-
lection equal to 80 cents per bushcl; and
Just as long as this duty remains in
force or rice planters may gather a
rich harvest. Good upland rice was
readily selling at 80 cents per bnshel
THIS season: while lowland rice sold Is
high as $3.50 per bushel.
The Secretary of the Carolina Rice
Mills in this city informs us that they
bought the rice crop Of four farmers
living on the Cape Fear river for which
they paid, in the aggregate, the sum OF
$4,000. One planter in Wayne county
sold his crop, grown on about forty
acres, for 81, 800, and several Others
Ill CHlS county realized from N,)U.tD IL
$4,000 per acre. Aside from these sums
realized, rice straw is selling at $500
per ton. and reckoning two tons per acre
is 4 moderate estimate. The average
acre of rice planted should realize 5000
to $4,000. The question might be asked
rs it not likely that there will be ar
over production of rice if it proves Sucl
a profitable crop:' In answer it can III
said that, at most, but a limited quantity
Of land suitable for the cultivation OF
rice can be found in the Carolinas,
Georgia and Louisiana, and the las
named State, which has had the largest
area devoted to rice culture, owing tc
the fact that sugar has even q higher
protective duty than rice, has not in
creased her rice acreage. For those
reasons it will be many years before tho
United States will grow sufficient rice
for home consumption.
We would strongly urge our farmer:
to put every available acre suitable t.
rice culture in this sereal. 1t is the only
crop we can see which will prove moro
remunerative than any other none,
crop.
HENRY WE'LL.
GOldsboro, n. c.. Feb. ), 1898.