202 HEXANDRiA DiGYNiA. Oryza, 



they probably do not know that much of the rice land 

 in Asia is so situated as to receive no help whatever from 

 nature, except what the air and rains yield ; however 

 the greatest proportion, and the best, are those that are 

 overflowed annually by the inundations of large rivers. 

 These we know receive from the waters much fertilizing 

 matter ; but the greatest part of the rice lands in the 

 Circars, are of the former sort ; there they depend entire- 

 ly upon the rains ; consequently can receive no help but 

 from the rain that immediately falls upon them, and 

 the dry stubble that is annually left on the ground, to- 

 gether with the remains of a few other plants that may 

 have grown up with the rice. The crop is always al- 

 lowed to be in every part dry ripe before cut, and is then 

 immediately carried off the field. Cattle are turned to 

 eat up the stubble through the day, but never suffered to 

 remain on it all night, as they are then constantly house- 

 ed. I speak of those parts the Circars only which are near 

 Samulcota ; they cannot therefore communicate much 

 fertility to the ground, and I never saw, nor heard of an 

 east Indian farmer, manuring, in the smallest degree a 

 rice field ; yet these fields have, for probably thousands of 

 years^ continued to yield annually a large crop of rice,on 

 an average from thirty to sixty-fold ; even eighty, or a 

 hundred has been known. 



There is no rotation of crops on rice lands, they lie 

 idle from the time one crop is cut till the next is trans- 

 planted into them, during' which time the soil is most per- 

 fectly dried, I may say burnt up ; whether it receives a- 

 ny benefit from being so, is a point on which I cannot 

 pretend to give an opinion. 



The best rice lands are extensive open plains, through 

 which large rivers pasS;, and which are exposed to eve- 

 ry wind that blows. No hedge, nor any kind of shelter 

 is here necessary, so that the plants are exposed to the 

 greatest glare of solar light, and the freest circulation of 



