202 



^gain a few niimites later) tlian on extonsiivp paddy fields, where 

 tliev liave no shelter e\cei>t \>y lono- fii(rlits. T^e tliis as it may, 

 they proved to lie a most serious cause of loss in the ]»resent in- 

 stance. 



The ahuve dii^ression tends to emphasise one ])oint. Jiamely, 

 the necessity of a clean field, especially in the case of so-called 

 ** drv " paddy, in the case of " wet '' ))addy. prolon^-ed immersion 

 lunh-r Mater tends to destroy oi' to clieck the hreeding of noxious 

 pests livino- in the ground; this is not the case with '" dri/ " paddy 

 which is only ])artially protected even hy the most thoron^iih culti- 

 vation. One may, it is true, come across very ])romisin^- native 

 ])addy plots, raised v,-ithout anv cultivation to sjieak of. on vir<iin 

 soil newly-<-leared of its forest timlier. hut tlie case here is very 

 •different, for forest hind is free from the ])ests which infest foul 

 j^rassv plots wliere I't/raliddc and Xocfiiiddi' hreed freely. 



Revertin'<i' to the crop taken from tlie paddy plot in the Econo- 

 mic Gardens, a test was made with 2 katties of the clean, threslied 

 paddy, after five days' dryinir. It was nnide into " ParhoiJcd " rice 

 1>y first stee})in^- tlie ])addy some liours in water, then hoilino- it for 

 40 minutes when the husks Itejian to crack, then drying it. and 

 finally husking it with the ordinary mortar and ]>esth\ 



The result for 2 kattis {2 ll)s.. 10 ozs. ) was :— 



Clean rice fit for tlie the tal)le 

 Broken rice 



Husk and small hroken rice 

 Fine bran 



The halance heing ])ro!)al)ly moisture. 



The rice, raw, had a i)h'asant odour and, c(toked. an au'reeahle 

 flavour without the nauseating smell which generally accompanies 

 parboiled rice bought from the shops; smell which is due. most ])i'o- 

 bably, to the steeping of the ])addy in water which is rendered foul 

 1)V the repeated immersions which it is used for. 



As already stated, the seed employed in this trial was very 

 mixed and the crop obtained naturally reflected this heterogeneous 

 character. Hence no conclusion can be drawn without further 

 trials, after selection, as to the best varietv among the dift'erent 

 types harvested, the more so as their destinctive chai'acters, the 

 results possibly of crossings, ^u•,\\ not be constant. 



The writer is unaware whether investigations lia\c been made 

 in Malaya with a view to the improvement of the local laces of 

 rice. Mr. l^asqual's very able jiampblet "" I'addy planting in 

 Malaya" has just a few words on the subject. Vet. \\v read that 

 the relative onttum of paddy ])er acre in l)Urma and Malava is as 1;> 

 is to 8, other things being eijual, hy wliicb is meant, we i>resume. 



