The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1917-08-16

from starvation. hut OF
late the poor potato has become rs
scarce rs attractive heiroS>rS and they
are as eagerly sought after. Many Il
disCOnSolate lover has found that an
other sister of the starch family is
possessed of attractions second only 10
her expensive sister, and today the
eating of rice is becoming general
throughout the country.
Ii isn't bad habit L. acquire. either.
This eating Of rice. Rice * nutritious
and paIatable and dige>ts we'll 1t can
be cooked quickly, without the neceS-
Sity of troublesome preparation ana
without waste. 1t is almost Il perfect
SuhStitut" for potatoes and il forms
the basis for the food supply of over
two-thirdS Of the peoples of the world.
In faCr. practically every other Couu-
try in the world consumes more rice
than the United States. ON the basis
of population. and its enforced Use
here, due To war conditions, ought Ia
prove Il benefit to our people. Rice
has been grown in this country for
growing areas being restricted. how
ever, To several of the Southern states.
Within the last few years California
has entered the field as rice pro-
ducer. and the development of the crop
in that state has been remarkable.
From 1900 acres planted in California
in 1913. the acreage has grown 10 CO.
600 acres in 1916, with crop valued
at ever four million dollars. The 1917
planting will exceed 100000 acres. The
total devoted To rice culture fiji the
United States is about 100000 acres,
and the 1916 crop amounted to 40
1920 bushels. This Is less than half
the quantity consumed in this coun-
try, however. as great quantities are
imported from the Oriental countries
Japan, a great rice producer. has more
than two thousand varieties of rice.
but there are only three or four va
rfeties grown in this country.
Rice, like oranges and lemons, re-
QuireS certain favorable conditions for
its growth. The climate must be
warm, with plenty Of sunshine and
hot days. The land must be practi-
cally level, with plenty of water avail
able. The top soil should he under
laid with subsOil that is imperviOuS
to water. The subsOil should lie near
the surface, for deep soil requires
a more water and more time for its sub
mergence than a shallow one. Good
drainage is necessary to get the land
in condition quickly for harvesting
and to prevent the crops from becom-
ing waterlOgged. Like all cereal crops,
rice should be harvested quickly after
1t reaches maturity. One of the great
difficulties which the Southern growers
had TO contend with was their inability
to get on to the land quickly to har-
vest the crops after the water had
been drained off. In California the
growers have solved this problem by
using small but powerful ball-tread
tractors that run on their own endless
track. and are capable OF pulling the
harvesting machinery through mud
that would mire horses. These trac-
tors, by reason of their adaptability To
changing conditions are also used for
almost any kind of work on the ranch.
They will do the blowing and checking
Of the land, will haul supplies to and
from markets, will pump water from
the irrigation bitches or the motor will
turn feed mill or churn the butter
for the housewife.
In rice culture the size of the field
- depends largely upon local conditions
the land is very level. n field
nay range from sixty to eighty acres
while in other localities the field can.
not he larger than one or two acres
In Oriental countries, where all the
labor is done by hand. the fields aver.
age half an acre in area. As water is
required to stand at n uniform depth
over the growing rice il must neces
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