178 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



A stiff, half-clay soil with some loam is best suited to 

 this crop. The soil should have a clay subsoil to retain 

 water and to give stiffness enough to allow the use of har- 

 vesting machinery. Some good rice soils are so stiff that 

 they must be flooded to soften them enough to admit of 

 plowing. Plow deeply to give the roots ample feeding 

 space. Good tillage, which is too often neglected, is 

 valuable. 



Careful seed selection is perhaps even more needed 

 for rice than for any other crop. Uniformity of kernel is 

 demanded. Be sure that your seed is free from red rice 

 and other weeds. Drilling is much better than broad- 

 casting, as it secures more even distribution. 



The notion generally prevails that flooding returns to 

 the soil the needed fertility. This may be true if the 

 flooding water deposits much silt, but if the water be clear 

 it is untrue, and fertilizers or leguminous crops are needed 

 to keep up fertility. Cowpeas replace the lost soil elements 

 and keep down weeds, grasses, and red rice. 



Red rice is a weed close kin to rice, but the seed of 

 one will not produce the other. Do not allow it to get 

 mixed and sowed with your rice seed, or to go to seed in 

 your field. 



Write to the Department of Agriculture for the fol- 

 lowing bulletins : 



Division of Botany, Bulletin 22. 



Division of Statistics, Miscellaneous Series, Report 6. 

 Office of Experiment Stations, Bulletin 113. 

 Farmers' Bulletin no. 



