Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-17


half the human race. Its consumption Is
smaller in the United States than in most
other countries. but is being increased
steadily. Ten years ago the average per
States was less than four pounds. Now 1t
is nearly seven pounds, with every indi-
cation of a continued increase. In Canada
and Great Britain 1t is thirteen pounds.
countries. thirty pounds year. 1t Is es-
timated that In India each person eats
fully 300 pounds of rice year. while in
China and Japan 1t Is the chief food for
more than half the population.
To supply this enormous appetite for
rice the world produces nearly 100000
900 bags or sacks. The capacity OF
sack varies somewhat in the different
countries. It's contents range between
$50 and 200 pounds India produces
greater quantity of rice than any other
country. The rice exports of India last
year amounted to more than SIX t,mes
States. Notwithstanding the enormous
home consumption. The rapid increase OF
the production of American rice will
change these figures materially IN me
reached its climax. The American re
sources are only beginning to be realized,
Rice is now grown in commercial guam
titles in ten states-the two Carolinas,
Georgia. Flori-
Ten States Grow da, Alabama.
Commercial Crops. louisiana Tex
as. Arkansas and California. The rice
acreage of the country is now less than
million acres. According to the esti-
mates Of the Department Of Agriculture
there are 10000, 600 acres of land In the
five states bordering along the Gulf OF
Mexico which are well suited Tor rice
culture and at least 100000 acres which
can be easily irrigated The land adapt
ed for rice growing is more varied In
character than for most other crops.
Most of the rice of South Carolina and
Georgia is grown upon tidal deltas near
some river by which the rice fields may
be flooded. Marshes which can be
drained and irrigated as desired from
nearby stream are also found in these
states. In eastern Louisiana rice is now
being grown upon lands once USED IOr
sugar plantations.
In southwestern Louisiana and south
eastern Texas prairies have been utilized
for rice growing and special scheme
of irrigation provided. Generally speak
ing, rice requires snore moisture than
other crops and the directions for it's
cultivation require sufficient moisture to
sdbmerge the soil for several months.
This does not seem essential at all times.
A publication devoted chiefly to rice
growing recently the dCCOullt VI
an Arkansas farmer who last year raised
large crop of good sized rice upon a
six-acre tract without any irrigation.
From present indications this years
yield of rice will exceed any other in
this country. the excess being estimated
by some growers at nearly 100000
pounds. This is partly due to the in
creased acreage. AS recently as 1909 the
experiments as to possibilities of rice
growing in the Sacramento valley of Cali
orr,io NOR t>yy ho ~ nf
Agriculture The tests were made upon
the black adobe soil near Biggs. Two
years tests included 300 varieties of
rice. The results indicate that in this
duce many times the 55.O0O.OOO pounds
of the cleaned rice which are consumed
each year upon the Pacific coast
The first attempt at rice growing in
this country was made by Gov Berkeley,
who tried to in
Tried in Virginia, troduce it in
But Was a Failure. 1s47 The = cro ;"
failed, doubtless because OF the high al
titude The Introduction Of rice into
South Carolina was by accident In 1894
vessel bound for Liverpool from NADIA
gascar was blown out of her course and
put up at Charleston for repairs Be
fore leaving, her captain presented a
planter named Smith with a small parcel
or rough rice. 1t was planted and soon
produced successful crop. Within a
few years sufficient seed was produced
to supply the needs of the COLONY and
also to ship to England Between I7O1
and 1889 the shipments of Carolina rice
to Great Britain and other ports had
exceeded 250,OOO,OOO pounds. The quality
was finer than that of any other rice in
nd for -
century 1t commanded the highest price
upon the markets Of Europe
me Carolina rice plantations were
ruined by the civil war and have never
recovered from the devastation. Before
the war the South Carolina rice WELD
had averaged over 100000 pounds an
nually for at least fifteen years. From
1850 to 1880 it averaged less than 90.
100000 pounds.
After the war Louisiana came into
the leadership in rice production, and
has steadily maintained it. The great
est development of rice culture in
Louisiana has come since 1884. when the
prairies Of the southwestern part Of
the state were opened up, and a sys-
tenn Of cultivation developed which
made possible the use of harvesting
machines similar to those used in the
great wheat fields of the northwest.
This introduction of machinery to ac-
complish work done by hand in most
other rice-growing countries has great
ly lessened the cost of American rice.
Machinery has also been introduced for
threshing, and this last device has de-
veloped the need of a new rice seed.
The Carolina rice. which has been
recognized for years as the standard
rice for seed. is not suitable for
threshing and milling by the new ma
chinery because too large a proportion
OF the grains are broken. The Depart
ment of Agriculture began to expert
ment with Japanese rice, which ia
harder than the Carolina rice and bet
ter suited to modern methods, although
the heads are not as well rounded or
the grains SO large. In 1900 ten tons
Of Kiushu rice were imported by the
department for experiment. The plant
ers themselves recognized the need of
an improved rice seed. and some of
them set about producing 1t. Among
these is Sol. T. Wright Of Louisiana,
who is sometimes referred to as the
Burbank of the rice fields" Mr.
Wright has been working for twenty
two years to produce rice that would
meet the following requirements: 1t
must yield the maximum number of
grains to the head, possess the great
est possible terminating powers, have
straw tall enough to allow flooding
the ground from six to eight inches
strong enough to hold up heavy heads
without bending, thus lessening the
loss in harvesting: it must yield a
hard, fiinty berry, uniform in size and
free from chalkiness. capable of with
standing milling without breaking or
waste.
At the recent annual convention OF
the Southern Rice Growers Associa-
tlon Charles e.
-