RICE 623 



695. Irrigation. The rice crop is generally irrigated. 

 So-called upland rices, already mentioned, are ordinary 

 irrigated varieties, grown on uplands, without watering, 

 where there is considerable rainfall. By continued treat- 

 ment of that kind, they become fairly well adapted to 

 dry conditions. These varieties when subjected to irriga- 

 tion again, always yield more than when not irrigated 

 and often more than the other irrigated rices. Upland 

 rices, in this country, are always grown on comparatively 

 small areas, and for home use, where the farmer often has 

 his own small mill, as in south central Florida. They are 

 sometimes cultivated like corn. 



In Japan, portions of China, the Malay Peninsula, and 

 other oriental regions, water stands constantly on the 

 ground until harvest time. The cultivation, of which 

 there is sometimes little or none (see Pratt, 1911), is 

 done in the water, and 12 to 18 inch seedling rice plants 

 are transplanted in the water, from nurseries. In other 

 places, and always in this country, the seed is sown in the 

 field, the ground is prepared while unsubmerged, and the 

 water is applied at regular intervals. 



696. Sources of water. In this country the sources 

 of irrigation water are, in general, the following : (1) from 

 the overflow of tide water streams on coast lands ; (2) by 

 gravity from rivers and their branches, and (3) by pump- 

 ing from streams at a lower level, by pumping from wells, 

 or by the water of artesian wells. The first mentioned 

 condition exists in the Carolina district, the second in 

 California and along the Mississippi River, and the third, 

 with little help from artesian water, in the Texas-Louisiana 

 and the Arkansas rice districts. The land along the 

 Mississippi River is protected from overflow by levees, 

 as it is often lower than the level of the river water. The 



