MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 125 



seven per cent of the world's crop, but the United States now 

 grows enough to supply its own needs. The industry in this 

 country commenced about the middle of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury. The first attempt in growing rice in Virginia was a 

 failure, the first successful crop in this country having been 

 raised in South Carolina. In 1694 a vessel bound from Mada- 

 gascar to Liverpool met with an accident in a storm and was 

 blown far from her course. She put in at Charleston, S. C, 

 and among those who boarded the vessel was Thomas Smith 

 who secured a package of seed from the captain of the vessel. 

 This he planted and the resultant crop was almost sufficient 

 for the needs of the colony. From that time the rice industry 

 in the United States became permanent. Before the Civil 

 War, Georgia and the Carolinas were practically the only 

 states growing rice in any considerable quantity, but after 

 the war other states took up rice culture, especially Louisiana 

 and Texas. 



The two varieties grown along the Atlantic coast and con- 

 sidered among the best of the world are the Carolina Gold and 

 Carolina White. The principal varieties grown in Louisiana 

 are the Honduras and several Japanese varieties. In the 

 United States the greater part of the rice is grown on the 

 tide-water lands and reclaimed cypress swamps of the South. 

 Rice is planted in three ways : by sowing broadcast, by drill, 

 or by transplanting. As soon as the plants are up the water 

 is applied to the fields and gradually increased as growth 

 permits. After the water has reached a depth sufficient to 

 kill the weeds it is withdrawn and the crop cultivated when 

 the soil is workable. The field is again flooded and the water 

 allowed to remain until the crop is nearly mature. In some 

 instances water is applied to the fields immediately after 

 sowing the seed and is allowed to remain for a few days when 

 it is withdrawn to permit germination. 



Rice is now harvested and thrashed in much the same way 

 as wheat, most of the land becoming sufficiently firm after 

 drawing off the water to bear the machines. The thrashed 

 grain is known as rough rice or paddy. In milling, the hulls, 

 bran, and the germ are removed. 



Unpolished or brown rice is more nutritious and has a bet- 

 ter flavor than polished rice. However, in this country the 

 market demands polished grains which keep much better, the 

 brown kind becoming rancid in warm weather. Rice is graded 

 according to the size and percentage of unbroken kernels, but 



