MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 119 



to dry for harvesting. The crop is cut with a binder, stacked, 

 and threshed as other grains. In miUing rice, it is not 

 ground, but is hulled and the kernels 'polished. Rice is 

 more nutritious if it is not polished, as this process removes 

 the portion which contains the fat. 



Sugar Cane. — Sugar cane is a plant which greatly 

 resembles corn, only no ears are produced. It is grown for 

 the juice contained in the stalk. Sorghum, raised in small 

 quantities in the northern states to produce molasses for 

 family use, is an annual; but the sugar cane of the southern 

 states is a perennial. The former is raised from seed which 

 forms on top of the stalk. The latter is propagated from 

 sections of the stalk. 



Soil and Climate. — Ordinary good soil is suitable for 

 sugar cane. In regions of slight rainfall, irrigation is neces- 

 sary. The crop requires a long, hot season. 



Planting and Cultivation. — Sugar cane is generally 

 planted by laying the entire stalk or a portion of it in furrows 

 from four to six feet apart. The new plants grow from the 

 buds at the bottom of the leaves. Frequent cultivation is 

 necessary, also hand hoeing. 



Harvesting and Manufacturing. — The canes are first 

 stripped of their leaves, and then cut off close to the ground 

 with a knife. As they soon begin to lose their juice, it is 

 important that they reach the mill as quickly as possible. 

 At the mill the stalks are first shredded and then passed 

 between heavy rollers. The crushed stalks are used in the 

 mill furnace. The juice is first purified and filtered, and then 

 boiled to sugar crystals. 

 Questions: 



1. How does rice compare in importance as a world crop with 

 corn and wheat? 



2. State briefly the methods used in growing rice. 



3. Tell what you can of the use and methods used in growing 

 sugar cane. 



Arithmetic: 



1. If Louisiana produces 380,000 acres of rice yielding 1,000 

 lbs. of cleaned rice p>er acre, how many pounds of rice are produced in 

 the state? 



2. If the world's production of cleaned rice is 175,000,000,000 

 lbs., and the production in the United States is 550,000,000 lbs., what 

 per cent of the world's rice crop is produced in the United States? 



