The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-01-12
THE CULTIVATION Or RICE.

THE CULTIVATION Or RICE.
Tho Chief Obstacle to Growing Rice
in tho Up.Country Has Been Over
come.
The Spartanburg Evening Star has
asked Col. II. j. Moore, one of Spartan
burg's most successful farmers, why he
did not plant rice on his bottoms, and
he replied that the principal reason
was the difficulty Of getting it milled
He had the rice fever some years ago,
and tried his hand, but did not succeed
in getting q stand, and he then planted
| the land in corn. We asked him If he
| here. He replied he had no doubt
| about it, and there were hundreds OF
the richest kind of bottom lands cmi-
nently adapted TO it, and fit for nothing
| else. He said he had been investigat.
ing the subject recently, aud had
even gone to Taylor's station, between
| Greer's and Greenville, to interview
Mr.. Alfred Toylor, who has grown rice
and who owns mill for cleaning it.
Mr.. Taylor told him he had been an
enthusiast on the subject all his life.
The difficulty with him was not that
| he could not raise the rice satisfactor-
lily, but in the matter of milling it.
Ho had commenced in small way,
| cleaning with mortar and pestle, then
| had put up twelve mortars in u row In
water mill, operating the pestle by
crank shaft. After wearing out his
machinery he quit the business until
he heard Of mill in Georgia which 1t
Was said could clean satisfactorily
| BE bought one and found it not u sue
cess, and again quit the business. He
then made u machine of his own which
failed to work satisfactorily.
Three years ago he bought tho Eu.
gelburg mill, which has solved the
matter for him in his old age. He was
milling fourteen Bushels per hour, and
was receiving the rough rice from An.
derson, Plckens, Oconee, Greenville
and Spartanburg by railroad, and by
wagon from all around. Col. Moore
asked him about the cultivation and
yield per acre. Omitting what he said
as to cultivation, he said two years age
he had Mr.. Freeman and two negro
tenants to plant an acre each. Mr.
| Freeman worked his rice, went to his
cotton and corn, and stayed too long
that when he returned the rice was &C
poor Il stand and 80 foul, that he
wanted to plow it up and plant in
corn. He, however, worked it out
when it began to grow and branch oui
SO that the stand seemed all right. lr
course Of time he cut and shocked, like
we do wheat. On the acre he had one
hundred aud ninety dozen, which re
quired q twO-horse wagon to haul tt
the thresher in nino loads The yieit
was eighty bushels and ten loads o
hay as good as fodder, some of which
WAS sold st fifty cents per hundred
pounds, and that the whole Of 1t coulC
have been sold at the same price, If he
had had a baler. The other two acre;
yielded eighty and ninety.on bushels
respectively. When asked about the
danger from Overtlows he pointed ou,
a patch Oh the river, which had beer
| overflOwcd several times while grow
ing, and was completely submerged
once when in full heal, with no serious
cons, quences so far rs he could sec
In fact, said he, you want water, ant
plenty Of it, which fact will appea
when 1T Is considered that in the low
country tho first thing they do ate
cover the field twelve inches deep IL
water for seven to ten days, :hel
dry Off, then put on waite
again, completely covering the rice
and when 1t grows out so as to max
the surface green, to draw it off thel
after some dry growth, the long waite
is put on-which means to say that tn
field Is flooded about twelve or eigh
teen inches deep for sixty days-afte
, which it is dried off and harvested.
it Is Col. iloore's opiniGa, tf IL take
: that much water, chat we need not fea
} freshets and rains, and one would b
perfectly safe in trying patch Of low
wet ground subject to overflow. Fl
means to try his hand in q small wa
this year to demonstrate further tn
feasibility OF its successful culture. II
} says 1t Ia easier to get the water on hi
land than 1t is to ditch IT, 80 as to dr.
for corn. Quite q number OF men 4
his neighborhood will plant an acre
and he thinks he could let out goo,
many acres. If enough men will e.
into the business to justify It, he vii
buy mill and put it in operation n
Moore's this fall. He says tho troubl,
with the tenant who owns his owl
| h rse, or mulo or COWS, is that he i
} generally short on long forage, which
the rice straw would correct. Som,
! parties who havo raised 1t I'll ink tha
it would pay to grow it for the stray
alone.