GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION. 159 



timated by the yield per acre, as the number cf acres a labor- 

 er can till. After the land is properly prepared for inunda- 

 tion, by levelling, ditching, and embankments, a single indi- 

 vidual can grow almost an indefinite quantity of rice. Rice 

 is no doubt ultimately destined to supersede cotton in a large 

 portion of Mississippi and Louisiana." 



The varieties of Rice most grown in South Carolina and 

 Georgia, which have hitherto been the greatest rice-produc- 

 ing States of the Union, are the Gold-seed rice, the Guinea, 

 the Common White, and the White-bearded. There are 

 several other varieties, but generally inferior to the foregoing. 

 The best are produced by careful cultivation on soils suited to 

 this grain, and by a careful selection of seed. 



In 1839, South Carolina produced over 66,000,000 Ibs.; 

 Georgia, 13,400,000 ; Louisiana, 3,765,000 ; and North Caro- 

 lina, 3,324,000, no other State producing one million pounds. 

 Rice will keep for years uninjured, if allowed to remain in 

 the chaff or husk as it is gathered, in which condition it is 

 called paddy. 



From the immense extent of our lowlands throughout the 

 delta of the Mississippi, which, if subjected to the wet tillage 

 of rice, may be considered of inexhaustible fertility, we may 

 expect at some future day, to surpass every other portion of 

 the globe in the quantity, as we now do in ^he quality of 

 our rice. 



MILLET (Panicum milliaceum). 



This is the species of millet usually grown in the United 

 States. In its form and the manner of bearing its seeds, 

 the millet strongly resembles a miniature broom corn. It 

 grows to the height of two to four feet, with a profusion of 

 stalks, heads and leaves, which furnish excellent forage for 

 cattle. From 60 to 80 bushels of seed per acre have been 

 raised, and with straw equivalent to one or two tons of hay ; 

 but an average crop may be estimated at about one third 

 of this quantity. Owing to the great waste during the 

 ripening of the seed, from the shelling of the earliest of it 

 before the last is matured, and the frequent depredations of 

 birds which are very fond of it, millet is more profitably cut 

 when the first seeds have begun to ripen, and then harvest- 

 ed for fodder. It is cured like hay, and on the best lands 

 yields from two to four tons per acre. All cattle relish it, 

 and experience has shown it to be fully equal to good hay. 



Cultivation. Millet requires a dry, rich, and well pul- 

 verized soil. It will grow on thin soil, but best repays on 



