The Jennings daily record., 1902-07-05
THE RICE INDUSTRY.
Written for Manufacturers Record
by S. L. Cary.

by S. L. Cary. /
An Industry as old ~:
as Adam. that has Iy.;...:*:.
fed three-fourths OF ~:
all the teeining bill i. VI. =
lions of past gener- j%,%
ations with little il T., $,ii..$::!.s
any improvements in r5r-.,Tiel:
method or machin- IIjis3,;;iI,,;
cry, has been sud .i'jll,,ss,,!iI.fa--
denly revolutioaized -: .,,,Il ,,ltR'II hill 4 ~
by the introduction 7zsas:z 7:@as=.s:==. zs:.s=:ts>
ol modern methods and machinery
into the rice fields Of Southwest Loui-
sana by farmers OF wheat from Iowa,
who introduced their ways OF grow
ing. harvesting and threshing Other
cereals.
This was dCne in a. D. 1884, ana
successful by conditions peculiar to
-tnd- different from any other rice fields
!xcown TO us. A Deering Twine Bind-
inc Harvester, with q little alteration,
was made to work successfully. other
machinery was adopted TO the indus
! ;vy so that now more ant, better ma
,Fine1v is used in the RICE belt than in
any other farming belt in the world.
| With improved methods and macnln-
cry we still lacked waterior safegroW~
ing, rice mills for cleaning and pre-
:ttring for market, ana a market large
enough not to be upset With each crop.
| The greatest necessity to SUCCESSFUL
rice growing is water. and necessity 5
the mother OF invention. The clouds
gave us tifty-tve to sixty inches and
eighteen to twenty inches during the
.rrowing season. Rice needed forty
inches.
Where could we find it? We saw
he rivers. lakes and bayous always
fu'l of fresh water on it's way to the
wulf. We must have water and here
it is. Can we spread it over the dry
land? Some enterprising farmer star
e1 q canal by building two parallel
3CTeeS on the surface from rive" tC
rrairie. A pumping plant at the rivci
!tett tie water intoithc canal. tluh.t
.rsyphon emptied it onto the rice
ieids on either side. Others iOio"e:
until now we have OIe hundred cana !:
i've hundred miles OF main canal ant
,ue thousand miles or latarals.
The capacity of these canals is ahou
one thousand acres for each mile. bu
hey are limited by the capacity oi th'
rivers and lakes to furnish water st
mat they will not undertake. to Il 'o'
n A. d. 1901. more than three hun
rcd thousand acres, giving a rlc
crop with an average season. IN tn
whole rice belt Of Louisiana and lex
rs OF three million sacks OF roug
-ice of one hundred and eighty -fv
pounds each.
4 standard bushel OF rice is !
oounds, barrel is one hundred an
sixty-two pounds and a sack is on
hundred and eighty-tive pounds.
I Estimated capital invested in canals
i've millions OF dollars.
RICE MILLS.
Over thirty in number up to "A. l.
1901, with cost and a working capt.;
VI more than one million, seven hun
7: l!ed and fifty thousand dollars.
~ POPULATION.
" By immigration from the north ar
s,, west during the past ten years, est
IN mated at twenty thousand.
WELLS.
Later on it was found that the ear
was full of water, clear and Sparklln
and at a constant temperature OF Sc
i auty cegrees Fahrc nheit, just adopt
- TO the best and largest growth OF veg
.nbles or animal life. 'verage dep
II wells one hundred and eighty fe
or from rne hundred and thirty
wo hundred and fifty fee with wal
Using to or nearthe surface. Avera
M size six. eight and ten inches: cost
wei complete. two, three and tn
dollars and fifty cents per foot. I'M
hallow wells give more water IN
he deepest wells elsewhere. III
- vels furnish plenty of irrigation
'* The small farmers d six inch floods {
+ hundred acres: an eight i'ch one II
f lred and fifty to two hundred aci
z !. len inch, two hundred and hity
4 ,hree hundred acres, at. cost e;isl1 i!
i. he reach OF the farmer.
+ POWER.
So far steam exclusively, and
!. discovery of oil in the rice belt
+ :ludes the protita bic use OF any, @,
/ fuel or force producer. Each day
. + morning papers says "a new gus
+ vas ushered into line at beaun
( Yesterday" A ten horse power
J. ser or other steam engine. and iii
:. + 10 twenty horse power for an
i....I inch pump, forty to seventy
- horse power for a ten inch pumn.
- 30 on up for combination OF wells
- PUMPS.
r Horizontal or vertical suction pt
"S ,vens. Van VIE, Morris, pumps,
us the water in our wells RISES to
ton distance, forcing p mps are
used.
NUMBER OF WELLS.
,rbree wears a-o about twenty:
reors aco. fiftv A. D 1900, two