The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-08-10
RDREeS ANREGT EzE2D'

sarily follow that the topography of
the country will largely determine the
size of the fields.
where rice lands are along a river
IL Is customary TO run canal to the
outer rim of the rice field, entirely sur
rounding 1t. The dirt taken from this
canal Is thrown upon the outer bank
to form a protecting levee against sud
den rises from the river. Water to
Hood the rice fields is let in from the
stream. The larger tract inclOsed by
the main canal is now cut up by small
er canals into fields or subfields of
suitable size and small levees are
thrown upon each side. 1t is essential
that the surface OF each of these sub
fields be level. The main canals av-
erage from 10 to 80 feet wide and are
about feet deep. They connect with
the river by flood gates. The sub
canals average from to 10 feet wide
and are nearly as deep as the main
canals. Boats are used to reach any
point of the growing areas, and some
times the levees are made wide
enough to form roads.
Various methods for preparing the
soil for the crops are used, some grow
ers advocating deep pIowlng, while
others use the shallow method. Nat
urally the character of the soil should
govern. One of the advantages claimed
for deep plowing is that, as the rice
does not feed much below the plow
line, the deeper the plowed area the
more food is placed at the disposal
of the growing crops.
After the ground is plowed, a disk
harrow Is run over the surface, fol-
lowed by smoothing harrow, and
often a heavy roller is used to break
up the clOds.
Sowing Is done early in spring and
about two bushels of seed are used
to the acre. While there are several
methods Of planting the seed, the best
results are said to be obtained with
a drill. This insures the equal distr-
button of the seed at a uniform depth.
Flooding is the most important fea-
ture Of rice growing. Except where
water is necessary for terminating the
seed, flooding is not practiced until the
rice is or 8 inches high. When the
rice reaches that height water is run
onto the land to n depth from 3 to
6 inches. 1t Is constantly changed to
prevent stagnation. The principal
thing to watch is the height of the wa
ter, as it is essential that the water
be kept at the same depth throughout |
the entire field otherwise one part Of
the crop will ripen before the other.
Harvesting machines are brought on
the land as soon as the grain is ripe. |
1t takes about six months to grow q |
crop Of rice in this country. Where |
the drainage is good and the ground |
dries quickly, reaping machines are
generally used. In California the |
track-laying tractors are almost uni
versally used in the rice fields, and
the harvesting can be commenced a
week or two earlier by their use.
In harvesting. the rice is cut from
6 to II inches from the ground and the
cut grain is laid on the stubbles to
keep 1t off the wet SOIL After a days
curing the grain is removed from the
field and stacked on dry ground. Ex-
treme care must be taken in shocking
the grain to prevent the rice from be-
ing lost. The bundles are stacked
against each other, with the heads in.
Slow curing in the shade produces the
tOughness Of kernel necessary to with
stand the milling process. The rice is
left in the shock until the straw is
cured and the kernel hard. The
threshing is done by the regulation
threshing machine.
The rice as it comes from the thresh-
er is called paddy" or trough rice"
1t still has surrounding 1t the husk of
close-ftting cuticle. The process of
milling removes this husk and polishes
the rice. This polishing Is more fad
than a necessity, for by 1t some Of the
most nutritious parts Of the rice are
lost.
The improved method Of milling rice
is quite complicated. The paddy is
first screened to remove foreign sub
stances. The hulls are removed by
rapidly revolving stones set about two
thirds of the length Of a rice kernel
apart. The product goes over horl-
zontal screens and blowers that sep
arate the light chaff and the whole
and broken kernels. The grains are
now run into huge mortars holding
from four to six bushels each, and
pounded with pestles weighing about