THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 133 



ill tlie majority of eases, the liarvest is delaj'ed by the fall rains and a 

 considerable part of the rice is damaged. 



Land which has been leveled and checked the previous summer, or has 

 been in rice before, should be plowed in the fall when the ground is in 

 good working condition and allowed to lay rough through the winter. 

 Tlien in the spring it may quickly and easily be disced or cultivated into 

 a good seed-bed. Rice shoukl be planted with a drill, as it is important 

 ro have all of the seed well covered and at an even depth of from one 

 to two inches. Between 60 and 80 pounds of seed are used to the acre, 

 the better results coming from the lighter seeding as a rule. 



If the rice is planted in March it is probable that there Avill be sufficient 

 moisture in the soil to germinate the seed, but if the ground shows signs 

 of drying out, water should be applied immediately. For a period of 

 two months after planting it will be found necessary to apply the water 

 every two weeks, or oftener, in order to keep the soil sufficiently moist. 

 During these irrigations the water is only held on the ground long 

 enough to thoroughly wet it and is then allowed to drain off. 



At the end of this period of first groMth and Avhen the plant has 

 well stool ed out. the field is submerged and the water should be held on 

 it until the plants have fully matured. When this stage is reached the 

 grain is in the hard-dough state and the heads liave all turned down. 

 There are many opinions as to the proper depth of the water during 

 submergence. ])ut the indications are that a depth of about six inches 

 gives the best results. By increasing the depth when the plants begin to 

 "boot" and again when the heads appear the growth is doubtless stimu- 

 lated and the growing season shortened. 



When the heads have all fully matured and the water is turned off, 

 eveiy effort should be made to drain the field as thoroughly and promptly 

 as possible. The levees should be cut in all low places and, when neces- 

 sary, small trenches cut to any depressions. With proper drainage it 

 is possible to commence the harvest within one to two weeks after 

 maturity. 



An effort has been made to use a small combined harvester in the rice 

 fields, but it has not been entirely satisfactory. The ditches and levees 

 make numerous obstacles and the great weight of the outfit causes it to 

 mire down in any soft places in the field. The best results have been 

 made with a rice binder pulled by horses and using a small gas engine 

 to turn the machinery. 



The bundles should be shocked and capped so as to protect the heads 

 from the sun and rain, but care should be used to make a rather 

 open shock at the base so that the air may have free circulation through 

 it. It is necessary as a rule to keep the rice in the shocks for almost 

 two weeks before it is in condition to be threshed. 



When it is being put through the threshing machine an experienced 

 operator should be on hand to see that everything is working properly. 

 Often a large percentage of the kernels are cracked at this time and 

 the value of the rice is materially lessened. 



The yield of a rice field varies greatly under different conditions. 

 Under ideal conditions enormous returns are often realized, but it is 

 not well to figure on these assumptions. The average grower who plants 

 early should hope for between 40 and 50 100-pound sacks to the acre. 

 An average of 30 to 35 sacks is probably nearer to what has been 

 3—15979 



