252 THE IRRIOA Tl ON A GE. 



rado river lost all their cotton, while their rice crops not only with- 

 stood the storm, but yielded seventeen bushels to the acre. 



It may be put down as a fact that an intelligent farmer, with suit- 

 able soil and plenty of water, will make more money out of rice than 

 in almost any other branch of agriculture. This is due to the fact 

 that the demand for this cereal is growing rapidly and to the fact that 

 the crop is hardy and more immune to climatic changes than other 

 cereals, while it does not exhaust the soil as quickly as other grain 

 products. In the warm climate rice is a particularly valuable food, as- 

 in the tropics corn and wheat cannot constitute the staple food, owing 

 to the fact that they cannot be preserved from one season to another^ 

 Moreover, rice is a healthful, easily digested food, and for this reason 

 it is becoming more popular in all parts of the country. 



The area of rice land in the United States is, of course, limited, 

 and the states of Texas and Louisiana enjoy almost a monopoly of land 

 suitable for the perfect growth of this cereal. 



In New Orleans home capital has just purchased 7,000 acres of 

 land suitable for rice culture, and it is the intention of the men inter- 

 ested in the company to establish one of the largest and most modern 

 plantations in the state. The land is situated in Vermillion parish. 

 Since the war with Spain the rice business has increased at a rapid 

 rate, this being accounted for by the fact that rice has been found to- 

 be of great value as food for army purposes and by the fact that men 

 who have served in the army have taught others the wisdom of in- 

 cluding rice in the regular daily diet. Northerners are using rice to 

 a greater extent than ever before. 



Successful rice farming requires a warm climate, plenty of fresh 

 water and a clay subsoil that will hold water. Irrigation is necessary 

 in the southern rice fields, and the wise farmer will calculate to use 

 about 13,000 gallons of water for each acre, while he will also calcu- 

 late to have a complete system of drainage in order to get water off 

 his land as well as on it. The establishment of pumping stations and 

 the building of irrigation canals have revolutionized the industry. At 

 present there exist over eighty of these artificial streams, extending 

 throughout the prairie of southwestern Louisiana. There are miles 

 and miles of irrigation canals fed by pumps which elevate the water 

 from the streams, each canal irrigating anywhere from one to twenty 

 thousand acres of land. The canals are flushed during the growing 

 season and the water is given to the rice just at the time when it 

 needs it most. 



Rice is flooded from two to twelve inches, and kept flooded during 

 all of the growing season, until the heads have become filled and the 

 crop begins to ripen, when the levees are cut and the water allowed 

 to run off, thus giving the ground time to dry and harden before nar- 



