The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-04-18
RICE CULTURE.

Washington, published yesterday, states
that Secretary Wilson will shortly send
an expert to scour the rice growing
countries Of the world with view to
gathering information that will increase
the rice production and improve the
quality greatly. In doing this, Mr.. Will
son is following the example set by
Mr.. Jefferson over a hundred years
ago In his great speech on Jefferson
before the Jefferson Club in st. Louis,
Senator Vest gives us this view of JEFF
ferson's usefulness while abroad:
Rice was largely consumed in France,
and anxious to know why the Amefl-
can article was unable to compete sue
cessfully with that raised in Southern
Europe he made a journey across Tile
Alps in 1887. into the rice-groWlng as
tricts. and being unable to procure some
improved seed rice, which he discovered
there. on account of laws prohibiting
it's expectation, he filled the pockets OIL
his coat with the best rice, OF the pest
Eice-producing district of Italy, ana
sent it to Charleston 1t came to hand
safely. was distributed in quantities or
ten and twelve grains to planters, ana
being carefully tended, furnished South
Carolina the best rice in the world.
Mr.. jefferson in his letter tells of his
efforts to secure a rice that would en-
able the rice planters of South Caro-
lima to ship their rice to Europe and
sell it at remunerative prices. We
take these extracts from his letters:
I'm 1870, / got a cask of heavy up
land rice from the River Denbigh, in
Africa. about lat 5000, North, which
sent to Charleston in hopes it might
supersede the culture of the wet rice
which renders South Carolina and Geor-
gia SO pestilential through the sum-
mer.-Jefferson Mss. L., 176. (M., 1920.
Il had expected to satisfy myself at
Marseilles, of the cause of the differ
ences of quality between the rice of
Carolina. and that of Piedmont, which
is brought in quantities to Marseilles.
Not being able to do it, | made an eX-
cursion of three weeks into the rice
country beyond the Alps, going through
it from VercelIe to Payia about sixty
miles. / find the difference to be not
in the management, as had been sup
posed both here and in Carolina, but
in the species of rice: and / hope to
enable them in Carolina to begin the
cultivation of the Piedmont rice, and
carry it on hand in hand, with their
own, that they may supply both quail
ties, which is absolutely necessary at
this market-To John Adams, H., 49,
Ford Ed ", 1876 (P, 17SO.
"At Marseilles / hoped to know what
the Piedmont machine was, but / could
find nobody who knew anything of it.
/ determined, therefore, to sift the mat
ter to the bottom by crossing the Alps
into the rice country. | found their
machine exactly such one as you had
described to me in Congress in the year
1775. There was but one conclusion
then to be drawn, to-wit; that the rice
was of a different species, and deter
mined to take enough to put you in
seed. They informed me, however, that
it's expectation in the husk was prohib-
tied. so L could only bring as much
as my coat and Sturtout pockets would
hold. / took measures with a muleteer
to run a couple of sacks across the
Apennines to Genoa, but have not great
dependence ON it's success The little.
therefore, which l brought myself must
be relied on for fear we should get no
more; and because, also. it is genuine
from Vercelli. where the best is made
of all the Sandman Lombardy. the
whole of which is considered as produc-
ing a better rice than the Melanese.
This is assigned as the reason for the
strict prohibition.-To E. Rutledge, ii !.
17S. Ford Ea., ", 4O7. P., 1880.
In Sundays News and Observer we
published a letter from special CORE
spondent at Buffalo. N. Y, stating that
it was proposed to have at the Buffalo
Exposition "a Rice Kitchen where all
sorts of dishes prepared from rice will
be prepared by negro cooks and sold
at a cost SO small as to cover only the
actual expenses of preparing and sery-
ing" The correspondent added-and
this is moment to North Carolina:
Il hear the produce of the Louisiana
and Texas rice planters largely predom-
mates and that the fine grain which
comes from the rice plantations around
Wilmington and Charleston stands as
yet no chance of being exploited The
cultivation of excellent rice in North
Carolina, while not a leading crop, is
an important crop. and it is to be hoped
that steps will be taken to let the visi-
tors TO Buffalo see that North Carolina
rice is quite as good as that of the Gulf
States. 3siakz1
If the South should ever vote Repub-
lican, it will not sell its vote, Mr.. McKin-
ley. You and Senator McLaurin may buy
a few men who are in the public eye
with Federal office, but the moment