Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1909-11-05

WhteI chH Dc SecuTcu ITOH Wells rang
ing in depth frcm 100 to 200 feet. The
geological formation IL such that tho
lift is not usually more than from TWEEN
ty to forty feet. Delta lands of the
Mississippi and those of the rivers Of
the Ca;~iinas and Georgia produce a
fine grade OF rice, which reaches the
market early and brings fancy prices.
However, in many cases, these lands are
not adapted to the use Of the improved
machinery, consequently the expense Of
growing the crop is greater than that
of the prairie lands.
"'The alluvial lands of South ArkAn-
sas are in many places adapted to rice
culture. Pure warm water, with nitrates
and other soluble plant food, can be
taken from lakes, ponds, bayous, and
rivers at very little expense.
1T is stated that the lands which are
now devoted to rice are lands that, ow-
ing to lack of drainage and reclamation,
were not adapted to other field crops and
were almost exclusively used for graz
ing. A farmer planted forty acres Of
bottom land lying adjacent to Bearskin
Lake with rice in order to determine
whether irrigation would kill nut grass,
which was very abundant in the field,
and at the same time produce q crop Of
rice. The experiment was successful and
an average yield of As 1-2 bushels of
rice per acre was secured.
"The time of planting largely depends
upon the season, but it is recommended
for southern Arkansas that the crop be
planted as soon as all danger of frost is
over and the ground warm enough to
terminate the seed, which will usually be
from April LIST to May 18th. Honduras
should be planted earlier than Japan,
which may be sown any time until May
18th.
$50 far few insect pests and fungus
diseases and no noxiOus weeds, except
red rice, have appeared in the rice fields
of the State.
RED rice according to DR.. s. A.
Knapp, is 80 called from the red. color
of the grains. In most cases the grain
is colored dark red through the entire
substance. In other instances seeds may
present any shade of color between the
red and the white; again, only the seed
coat contains the coloring matter, and
in this case the grain comes from the
! mills clean and white, or with little
stripes of red where the coat has been
imperfectly removed The presence of q
few grains of red rice in millcd rice low
ers its grade and reduces its price. 1t
is, therefore, important to keep red rice
out of rice fields.
an order to keep red rice from the
rice field it is advised to grow a few
acres isolated and planted on sod or new
land for seed, and to select the largest,
earliest and best heads for the next crop.
When red rice appears the field should
be plowed, disked and narrowed as soon
as the crop is harvested. If the land is
dry and hard, flooding will terminate
many of the seeds, which will then be
killed during the winter. Other seed
terminating in the early spring may bs
killed by spring blowing. When red rice
has obtained firm hold in the field
some other crop should be grown until
the weed has disappeared, and il the
land is too low and acid to produce good
crops, it may be fall plowed and left y
the fallow until spring, plowsd again
iallowed until midsummer, and then
olOwed for n crop Of rice.
Suggestions regarding methods of cut
ture adapted to Arkansas conditions are
siven in the bulletins from which thi.
article is compiled"
Farmers Bulletin No. ITO, Unite1
States Department of Agriculture, by
DR.. S. A. Knapp, contains information
concerning the ~erieties to plant the
! production and Importation Of rice. soils
adapted to rice, irrigation, preparing the
ground, drainage, sowing, flooding. fer
tilizing, weedy grasses, harvesting
| thrsshing, yield per acre, milling, effects
of fashion in rice, rice as . food, by
| products, etc. This bulletin will be fur
nished those especially interested upon
application to the Mississippi Depart.
meDt of Agriculture and Commerce, q
limited supply of same being on hand.
| Bulletin No. 201 of the United States
Department of Agriculture, gives = de-
tailed investigation o. the costs of build
ing and operating 1B irrigation stations
for small rice farms in Louisiana and
Arkansas. The following extracts are
taken from this Bulletin:
'The greater part of the lard devoted
to the growth of rice in Louisiana and
| Texas is irrigated with water raised
from streams by large pumping plants
and supplied to growers under contracts,
the usual rate being One-ffth of the crop.
The general provisions Of these contracts
are as follows, A canal company agrees
to furnish a sufficient supply of water
! for a described tract Of land, but is not
liable for damage on account Of short
age. The water 10 distributed by the
company, which has full control as to
the manner of distributing water both to
and upon the land and is to be the sole
| Judge of the time when water should be
supplied. If the planter wastes water
from any cause the company may shut
off the supply without forfeiting its
| rights to one-fifth of the crop. In case
of sufficient rainfall to mature crop
and the planter draws little water from
! the company the latter is still entitled to
its share of the crop. While the ex-
treme case just cited is never realized
in actual practice, the fact remains that
the demand for water varies greatly
| with different seasons.
I'm part to avoid the provisions Of
these contracts and have an Independent
supply and in part TO cover the lands
not reached BY the large canals, many
growers have pnt down wells and In
stalled their own pumping machinery.
For several years the author has been
making pump tests in the rice districts,
the results of which have been published
In previous reports, but with few ex-
captions the plants tested have been the
large ones taking water from streams
and bsyous; that ia, those furnishing
water to planters under contracts such
1nxlnrsha1 ~hO~-. A. -n.o-x..