SOIL FOR RICE 36I 



north of the southern boundary of Tennessee. Its climatic 

 range is similar to that of cotton, being between 45° N. to 38° 

 S. Lat. in the Eastern, and from 36° N. to 2,^° S. Lat. in the 

 Western Hemisphere. Certain varieties of upland rice are said 

 to be adapted to a somewhat wider climatic range. While 

 upland rice may be raised by methods not dissimilar to that of 

 oat culture, it is neither so productive nor of so good a quality 

 as when raised by irrigation, the method most commonly 

 practiced. 



07. Soil. — The principal considerations concerning soil for 

 rice are the ability to irrigate it, to drain it promptly, and to 

 become solid with sufficient rapidity after the water has been 

 removed for the passage of animals and machinery. Different 

 degrees of fertilit}^, however, are recognized, and soils of a clay 

 nature have been found better than those of a sandy or peaty 

 character ; although here, as with other crops, a loamy soil with 

 a fair degree of organic matter is desirable. The principal 

 areas in the United States devoted to rice are : (i) the delta 

 land and inland marshes of the South Atlantic States, (2) the 

 alluvial lands along the Mississippi River, and (3) the prairie 

 soil of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. The 

 practices prevailing in the third area are radically different, both 

 because the topography makes possible larger fields and because 

 the solid subsoil allows the use of self-binding harvesters for 

 gathering the crop. Upland rice may be grown upon any soil 

 that will grow maize or cotton, and the method of culture is 

 not macarially different from that of oats or other spring sown 

 grain. 



508. Rotation. — A rotation of crops is seldom practiced on 

 the rice plantation, although it is recognized that a rotation 

 would increase the yield of rice per acre ; but it would reduce 

 the area grown. One very important reason for a rotation of 

 crops is to free the land of noxious weeds; and planters are 

 being forced to adopt a rotation for this purpose, which consists 



