37* THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Other purposes, as the manufacture of buttons and as a stuffing 

 material in the manufacture of sausage.* The Louisiana Station 

 has found the digestibiUty of commercial rice bran to be similar 

 to that of wheat bran and polish to that of maize meal when fed 

 to steers. 



II. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 



528. Production of Rice in the World. — ^While it is estimated 

 that rice enters more or less into the dietary of 800 millions of 

 people, or half the people of the world, the production of rice is 

 not known accurately. It is estimated that Asia produces 72,387 

 million pounds, Europe 1,507 fnillion pounds, and North America 

 284 million pounds.^ According to this estimate, which includes 

 the principal rice producing countries, the production of rice is 

 about one-half that of maize or wheat, somewhat less than that 

 of oats, and somewhat more than that of barley. While rice has 

 been estimated to constitute the principal food of at least one- 

 third the human race, it is probable that other foods, such as 

 sorghum seed and the seeds of legumes, enter largely into their 

 dietary. 



The countries of Central America produce rice somewhat 

 extensively, Honduras being especially favored, while the coun- 

 tries of northern South America produce rice sparingly. Italy 

 and Spain are the chief rice producing countries of Europe and 

 Egypt of Africa. Rice is produced throughout the warmer parts 

 of Asia, China, Japan and India being especially noted for its 

 production and the high state of its cultivation. 



529. Production of Rice in the United States. — Rice is a 

 secondary crop in the United States, occupying, in 1899, about 

 one-five-hundredth of the area in cereals. The production, 

 however, has increased somewhat rapidly during the past 

 decade on account of the development of the prairie regions 



1 La. BuL 'i^, p. 436. 



« Inter. Encyc. VoL XIV, p. 1049. 



