The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-02-15
THE BIG RICE MILL.
Its Promoter Tells Some Interesting
Facts About 1t.
IT WILL BE EXCELLED BY NONE.
will Have a Capacity Of One Hundred
Barrels Per Hour.
SOME GOOD ADVICE TO RICE PLANTERS
MIR. Jahn Tells How Rest Results
Arc TO lie Obtained aud Gives
Interesting Information.

Mr. Gustave A. jain was seen at tho
Capitol hotel by representative of The
| Post last night and in response to ques-
lions gave out some valuable information
regarding the rice mill he is building here,
together with some very interesting state
mens in connection with the rice industry
In general. Mr.. Jehn is ayerse to talk
ing for publication but, inasmuoh as his
new enterprise means a great deal to
Houston he was finally prevailed on to
furnish the desired information
Mr. jain is the senior member of the
firm of Gustave 4. Jain &c Co. of New
York and president of the well known
Atlantic Rice Mills company, He has been
a frequent visitor to the South for thirty
years or more and has been large buyer
and shippers OF Louisiana sugars molasses
and rice at New Orleans, where his branch
Office was located, his principal office
being in New York City.
In response to questions regarding the
selection OF Houston for the location OF
his mill, Mr.. jain said:
selected Houston as rice milling
ana distributing center for the future be-
cause | think the drift of the development
OF the rice industry Is in this direction,
ana in the course of few years South
Texas viii prove a very strong competitor
OF southwestern Louisiana. The milling
capacity Of Louisiana Is about equally
divided between the New Orleans and the
country mills. There are only two small
mills now In Texas, one at Calye.fo,
INC other at Beaumont. Our plant will
I ne second to none when completed Its
proposed capacity Is 100 barrels per hour
1 or 200 barrels in twenty four hours. with
a warehousing capacity equal to 100, 900
sacks of rough rice. We milled equal TO
over 100000 barrels at our Atlantic mills
in New York last season.
Inc location Of the Houston mill is an
excellent one II fronts on Railroad and
Third streets and Buffalo bayou thus az
ftording an abundance Of both railroad and
water transportation facilities.
The mill Will he new brick and ron
etrucilre. oOX1O in area and FIVE stories
m height, with four-story brick ware
house, 5oX70, for the clean rice, and "A
ihree-story warehouse. 125xl50. Tor rough
rice. The machinery will he OF the most
modern, up TO date, improved type, The
estimated cost complete will be about
$50, 600
Mr.. jain built the Lake Charles rice
milling plant at Lake Charles. La, the
largest and most modern rice mill in the
United states at the time of it's construc-
tlon,
He Imported and introduced the first
Japan rice seed into the state Of Louisiana
having after various experiments become
convinced that rice raised from Japan seed
not only proved to- be the most prolific NV
> 81 per cent or more, but the most remu-
nerative as we'll
Mr.. jain has devoted the greater part
OF hts life to the study OF rice culture and
mining and there are few men in the rice
{ business today who are better posted.
devoted r4fI 81,
/, the past three months looking over the
u entire rice producing section OF South,
= western Louisiana and Southeastern
I Texas.
, This rice belt" he said las. night
d commences whore the sugar belt OF
X Louisiana ends. about 1850 miles west o,
4 New Orleans on the Southern Pacific rail
e road and It's connections aud continues
!. along tho line of that road distance OF
n jVO miles or more to beyond and west OF
r Houston, with a width Of 30 20 100 miles
y extending from the gulf inland Thu,
p there Is afforded an area OF hundreds ol
o thousands OF acres Of arid lands wei
!. adapted to rice culture, which promises 70
c become one of the leading agricultural and
V milling industries of the South, as well as
& most remunerd,tVe. rs these lands can be
q bought for from S. TO $50 per acre. accord
@ ing to location aud quality. and win pro-
o duce per acre 10 to % barrels OF rough
- rice OF lS2 pounds each, or an average
OF about - IL barrels at an average price
of about $215 per barrel or about s3j pei
acre, at a cost of $40 or SI2. net gain
OF about SIS per acre for land costing SlC
or less is not bad.
% These figures of mine are very con
> sentative for know Of cases where tn,
a yield was 10 barrels and the price real
! lied $3.50 per barrel at cost OF about
$40, making a net gain OF about SA5 pei
l ma IA
. even better showing than this, but sucl
. cases are the exception and not the rule,
Nm order TO successfully prosecute the
: culture of rice II Is of the utmost impor,
; lance that the land selected shall be a:
u nearly MS possible uniformly fiat with JUS
4 little fall to insure good drainage. L
should be broken up in the fall plowCt
and narrowed IN the spring before seed
!; ing and ,nclosed With good lcvees TO hol,
q the water Great care should be eXerciseC
in the selection OF the very best seed
. either Honduras, Carolina or Japan--al
3 OF which should be free from all imper'
= fections. such as Indigo and other grass
e seeds. as well as red rice, To buy poo
seed is to waste good money and mean
an inferior CROP which can only be sole
at correspondingly low price.
"A suffciency OF water for irrigatio
purposes is most essential to making
e good and sure crop-the land should b,
z which Is six gallons per minute per acre
NJ for nearly ninety days II is recommends,
, 20 turn cattle in on L after harvesting.
There are now about 10000 acres un
der cultivation IN Southwestern Louisiana
and Texas. producing about 100000 bar
rels The crop along the Mississippi rive
!. is about 100000 and that OF North AM
y South Carolina and Georgia about 500 O0O
), making a total OF 100000, the largest eve
a made yet.
u 'unwlttiugly good many Of the plan
J" tiers Of Southwestern Louisiana have, b.
continuous use OF their fields for ten o
twelve years or more. permitted thei
lands to run down. thus yielding mos
"a unsatisfactory results-an inferior red ric
Of little Volue. These lands mead res
II they are turned into a pasture for ga.
lie for a year or two all will be wei
again. Many also suffer in consequence
Is OF TOO scant a supply Of fresh water az
I'd in some cases lose their crops other
40 had had trouble from salt water overflow
$. which totally destroyed the crop Reek
- lessness In tho threshing. unneeessarit
sd breaking M the grain, Is a loss that ca
IS be avoided.
Tho consumption OF rice is iarssli