Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1953-10-20
E.W.JOhnSon Tells
OF Rice Growing
In Arkansas
Former jefferson Man
Hes Plunfdfion


plantation. E. w. Johnson, West
jefferson, who will be remember
i ed for his tales about his place in
Arkansas and his famous coon dog,
"Yaller," (deceased) about whom
he wrote a book, has written de-
tailed account about the raising
and cultivation of rice, in compi-
ance with a request before he took
off recently for Arkansas. The re-
port, he states in a foreword, will
be somewhat in detail about the
preparation, planting, watering
and harvesting a field of 447 acres,
a part of Section 10, Township 10,
Range 3, west in Jackson County
in White River Valley of Arkan-
sas. This tract is bounded on the
north by Grassy Lake which COW
ers 40 acres.
THE first important person to
make his appearance in a new
born rice field is the surveyor.
This field appears to the observer
to be perfectly level, but there
must be a high spot. In this case
the highest place is on the south
bank of Grassy Lake and the
south end of the field is three feet
lower than the bank of the lake.
This is ideal, since the rice water
must be kept moving; if it be-
comes Stagnant an unwanted grub
of bad repute will destroy the
plant. The engineers plat and pic
ture will also disclose that there
are some depressions and eleVa-
tions of foot or more on that So
called level tract. These must be
controlled by dykes which are con-
structed two feet high by a heavy
double plow at the same time the
seeding is done. The rice grows on
these dykes as we'll as the rest OF
the field.
1.-THE next proceeding is to put
down II inch casing in search OF
water. We put down two such
wells; one is 81 feet deep, the
other IS. In each instance the cas-
ing stands on solid rock after go
ing through so feet of fine gray
sand. The water is pumped by 10
inch pump and each of these wells
produced $500 gallons Of water
every minute for 100 days throu-
ghout the hot dry summer and
didn't stop for sleep. The pumps
are propelled by so horsepower
motors.
1--WE planned for three such
wells as necessary to furnish the
water, but at that time Grassy
Lake was filled to over-flowing by
the cloud bursts which we hac
from April 20 to May 20 and mil
lions of barrels of water were be-
ing discharged through a dredgeo
ditch which I had constructed sew
eral years ago to drain the lake
but hadn't had much success. We
had a wise guy among the opera
tors who said, the Lord sent u!
this water, why don't we use it?
So we put a dam at the outlet o.
the lake and another at the outle
of the ditch into Mill Creek, pu
in a relift and watered 100 acre!
thus saving another well and abou
$4,000.
Everything ready and under
control, we Sowed three bushels o
seed per acre and did it like yol
do wheat or oats with an endgatC
seeder. In few days the growing
rice is ready for a bath. AS fas
as we can get the water to tht
crop, we endeavor to pour five in
ches over the entire field. Tht
purpose of so much water is to xii
all competing vegetation so thu
heavy growth of rice will have full
possession. The water is poured OF
at the same rate until the rice ha
produced the green heads; ther
the water flow is stopped and tht
crop drained for ripening.
I'VE finished harvesting the croI
yesterday October 12) except five
acres which was too green. This il
interesting as follows: one of the
wells is pumped through a flume
which is 20 feet wide and 6 fee
deep at the we'll and become!
smaller as it carries the water twC
miles on three sides of the cas-
part of the field. The other vel
pours the water directly on to TIT
rice. It is almost like ice and chill
led the crop so it has maturet
more slowly The water in thr
flume got warm in 10 degrees o
heat and proved what rice likes.
Our fumes, bitches, roads, etc
take out at least 27 acres of thr
field, so we have harvested witt
combines, AIS acres. The crop a
just handed me here at the office
amounts to 35, ,789 bushels. w
were offered $500 per bushel TAX
en- from the combine, but my part
ner has already dried and cleane,
10000 bushels for seed and pro
poses to do the same thing wit
10000 bushel more. We have
new variety and the rice men wan
it for seed.
"All of us rice people are eatin
puffed rice and crispies and all tn
inebriates with whom I am asso
ciated are drinking Schlitz beer i
Il