White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1920-06-06
HOW CHINAMAN
GROWS HIS RICE
Preparation Of Soil. Encountered
by Tedious Details.
DIVIDED INTO Two GROuPs
Upland Nice Can De Cultivated a. Any
Ordinary Crop. Whereas Wet nlcs
10 ee~n Under csndltlens That Ne
esssltats the Flooding Of the Fleids
FOR . Considerable limo.

for 2 C~oneto0raote ttme.
Rice Is the chief %sustenance Of one
third OF the worlds population. 1t
has been cultivated from time imme-
mortal In tropical and semitropical
countries aud more than 1000 differ
ent varieties have been recognized.
The rice plant is similar In appear
ancs to wheat. but instead of having
q compact "ear." IL bears a head COM
| posed OF a number OF fine stalks. each
of which contains one grain. The
grains are covered with a brown husk
when separated from the rest Of the
plant they are known as paddy"
Rice plants may be broadly divid-
ed into two main groups. namely. up.
land or "hill' rice and "1owland," or
wet. rico. Upland rice "a be cul-
tlvated as any ordinary crop. where
as "wet" rice is sown under condi-
tfons necessitating the flooding Of the
fields for a considerable time during
the growing period.
Rice Is generally considered a ma
tive of China, probably due to the fact
that Emperor Chln-Nong, who ruled
$500 years before Christ, established
n ceremonial ordinance which pre-
scrlbed that the emperor should SOW
the rice himself, while four other kinds
OF seed may he sown by princes Of his
family.
Rice was also cultivated centuries
ago In India and later In Egypt. after
which. about the year 148S. Its cult.
walton spread to southern Europe. In
1647 Sir William Berkeley planted one
half Of a bushei Of seed In Virgins,
In 1904 a Portuguese bark home
ward bound from Madagascar, driven
from her course By tempests. was
forced to take shelter In the harbor
of Charleston. S. c., and the captain,
In return for courtesies extended lin.
presented Gov. Landgrave Smith with
a bag Of rice seed. which Smith plant
ed that year In accordance with the
captains Instructions. and from this
crop sprang the present tremendous
rice industry IN the southern states.
Ries Growing 10 Tedious.
As rice is the staple food Of China
with ITS 400, 100000 inhabitants. II will
be of Interest TO review briefly the
general method Of cultivation followed
by the Chinese.
In China the preparation OF the soil
presents many tedious details. as very
little modern machinery as yet has
been introduced. The land Is either
worked with hoes. spades or mattocks.
or piowed to q depth Of about ten
inches with an a~ntiquated contrivance
usually drawn by a water buffalo. Wa.
ter Is supplied the field by means Of
a waterwheel until the soil is thor
oughly soaked. In some cases the
field Is FIRST flooded and then plowed,
Green manure. consisting OF straw,
grass, etc, is spread on the field after
Il Is flooded and worked into the soil
with the feet.
Seeds are generally selected by sift-
ing the paddy. This operation. which
IL performed In q sieve constructed Of
bamboo. eliminates effectively the un-
desirable and small grains. writes f.
G.. Herr. In the Grain Log.
A seedbed separated by boards
about Ave inches wide. one-haif inch
thick and as long as the bed itself. Is
constructed in a corner Of the field.
The level Of this bed Is slightly
higher than the field itself. The seeds
are packed ia a straw mating bag
aud soaked In cold wafer for about
five days until they begin 10 sprout,
when they are sown broadcast on the
bed, which Is then covered with rice
straw ashes 10 a depth OF about one
inch. Sometimes they are sown In
the bed with no covering whatever.
Flooding the Rice Bed.
For the first FIVE days the bed Is
covered with water about one inch
deep, during both day and night. After
that II Is flooded each morning until
the plants are five or six inches tall.
The plants are then pulled out and
stuck into the soil about one and a
half inches deep In regular rows.
The plants take 700 In about ten
days after which a tong consisting Of
an Iron comblike head Is used to har.
row between rows. Every effort Is
made TO maintain a uniform depth Of
about two inches Of fresh water, which
Is drained Off when the head of the
rice comes out.
Early rice Is harvested about 100
days after transplanting, and lste rice
takes about $50 days to mature.
The comparatively low cost Of rice
has made It the staple article OF food
In Asiatic countries. Rice is also
extensively used by all other parts OF
the world, as It Is easily transported
and can be held for a considerable Pc
Rod without deteriorating. There is
no doubt that Its consumption will
materially increase with the dissem-
ination Of knowledge regarding the va.
| riety of palatable ways In which II