154 THE CHIEF SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL CROPS 



method would be far too costly with our high-priced 

 Western labor. 



The rapid extension of rice growing in Texas and 

 Louisiana has been due to the discovery that on these 

 soils it is possible to plant and harvest rice by 

 machinery in exactly the same way that wheat and 

 other small grains are handled at the North. Fields 

 are arranged with a system of dikes and ditches so 

 that they may be flooded at will. The land is plowed 

 and harrowed the same as for any other grain crop, 

 and seed planted with a grain drill. 



If the ground is moist enough to insure germination, 

 no irrigation is given until the plants are several 

 inches high ; then the fields are flooded and the water 

 allowed to remain long enough to kill the young 

 weeds and grass. The water is then drawn off and 

 applied again at intervals as needed. As the grain 

 matures the fields are thoroughly drained in order 

 to admit of the use of self-binders for harvesting 

 the crop. 



The grain is thrashed in the same manner as wheat 

 or oats, but as the chaff adheres very closely to the 

 kernel, this rough rice, or paddy ^ has to go through a 

 milling process before being ready for market. 



The upland rice, grown in small quantities by so 

 many Southern farmers, is not irrigated and conse- 

 quently must be cultivated two or three times in 

 order to keep down grass and weeds. It is usually 

 planted in drills about twenty to twenty-four inches 

 apart, which is sufficient space to allow for cultivation 

 with a single shovel plow. 



Botanical Features and Varieties. — Rice like the 



