The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1909-10-01
CULTURE OF RICE
Staff Of Lite Of Large Portion Of
Human Race.
Demand for Il Rapidly increasing and
Area for Growing ts Limited
One important Thing 10
Proper Drainage.

& recent meeting or the rice growers
of Jefferson county. Texas:
Rice is the staff of life Of a large
part of the human race, especially of
the class seeking a cheap, substantial
food. When merely hulled and not
polished it is a perfect food; that is
to say, has all of the elements neces-
sary to sustain life, and in proportions
that are we'll balanced as a human
food.
The polishing of rice makes it look
better, keep better and hides the de-
fective grains, but adds nothing to
its value as a food, but, on h other
hand, makes it less valuable, for when
polished most of the nutriment has
been removed. leaving practically
nothing but carbohydrates.
The population of the United States
Is now about 80, 900, 900 and increasing
at a very rapid rate. The demand for
rice will increase enormously n the
area for growing the crop is limited.
Unlike wheat, oats, corn or barley,
rice is p%roftably grown only in re-
stricted localities.
In a general way a warm climate
and low, fat land are necessary. The
n important thing on a rice farm is
drainage. 1t is more important than
irrigation, as 1t is cheaper to not plant
a crop han to make one and lose it.
There are two classes of rice, called
upland and lowland, or rice that can
be grown without irrigation M that
which must have irrigation.
The upland rice can be grown in
rows m cultivated as is corn or sor-
ghum.
The water rice must be sown broad
cast as wheat, or any other grain, and
be kept dry for three or four weeks
III then have the water turned on.
Some prefer to turn on the water and
allow it to stay a: day or two, hen
draw it Off for a few days, then turn
it on, repeating the process two OF
three times. 1t is claimed that the
rice forms better roots and stools or
branches out better when treated
thus. There are many varieties of
rice in Japan, China and India, to say
nothing Of the other countries that
produce rice. There are about $50
varieties in India, and the varieties
in Japan and China number in the
hundreds.
The Chinaman cultivates bou one
acre, the Japanese three acres, the
Hindoo about the anne, the South
Carolinian 25 acres and the Texan
1875 acres. The Asiatic work is near
ly all done by hand They even go
| so far as to transplant their rice from
r1art hn1c RI tho fold This nnf nn1v
insures a good even stand, but saves
time, for when the rice crop is plant
| ed possibly the rice land has some
other crop on it that has to be har-
| vested before they can plant the rice.
The Japanese and Chinese make use
of their rice lands for growing crops
for the purpose of %benefiting other
crops and helping the land by rota-
ton. The Mexican rice growers fol-
low the same practice with profit. The
Japanese grow the soy or sofa ear
after the rice has been harvested.
This is a leguminous crop, and not
only furnishes rich, nutritious food for
man or beast, but enriches the soil to
a wonderful extent by developing
nitrogen in the soil from the bacteria
formed on the roots. The sofa bean
is a deep-rooted plant, and it pumps
up from the subsoil potash and other
mineral matter useful to the plant,
IND stores it on the surface, where
the surface feeding rice plant can
| ge.. it.
The Chinese, Japanese n Hindoos
have worked their lands from time
immemorial, and are still producing
very heavy crops. They have learned
| to rotate and fertilize, a lesson for
the American, who often c~ultivates
a farm for a few years until he has
| impoverished it and poisoned it with
| red rice, and. then O on to a new
| piece of land and begins the process
of ruin and destruction again.:
We will fertilize the rice crops as
| do the Asiatics when land becomes
dear and we learn more economy. It
is generally conceded that it is only
necessary to put on potash, and phos-
| phoric acid as a fertilizer. The nitro
gen is not generally added, though
it is reasonable to suppose that it is
as necessary on a rice crop as it is
on wheat or any other grain; how
| ever. no very extensive experiments
have been tried in this country to
| prove this fact.
The rice farmer should be careful
in buying his fertilizer to get one
that contains sulphate of potash, as
the other forms of potash absorb SO
much moisture in the damp climates
where rice is grown that it is hard
to get it through a drill or get it dis
ibute The ommen formula for
| Texas n Louisiana is IL per cent.
phosphoric acid and two per cent.
potash, putting on about $50 to- 200
pounds per acre, broadcast, with the
| fertilizer attachment, when the grain
is drilled. The time will come when
more will be put on to the acre or the
percentage of available phosphoric
acid and potash will be increased. The
fertilizer will not benefit the rice as
much as it would other crops, as it is
SO soon covered with water, and it is
a recognized fact that fertilizers do
not do SO well in a very dry season
or on lands covered with water.
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