330 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



while North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana grew only 

 a limited amount. Within the last ten years Louisiana and Texas have in- 

 creased the area devoted to rice to such an extent that they now furnish three- 

 fourths of all the products of the country. In 1896 Louisiana produced 127,- 

 600,000 pounds of rice, North and South Carolina 27,901,440 pounds,and Georgia 

 10, 464, 000 pounds. 



Rice is a plant of such vigor that 

 it could be grown on any arable land 

 as far north as the Ohio river but for 

 three reasons: 



Irrigation. The crop must be ir- 

 rigated. The smaller tributaries of 

 the rivers that drain the Miscissippi 

 Valley bring down very little water 

 during the summer. The same is 

 true of the smaller creeks and streams 

 emptying directly into the gulf. The 

 flood period, or the time of the year 

 when there is greater abundance of 

 water, is not coincident with the pe- 

 riod during which the largest amount 

 of water is required by the rice crop. 

 In the absence of lakes or natural re- 

 servoirs throughout this region it 

 would be necessary to raise the water 

 from the streams by pumping, and it 

 is an open question whether the 

 water supply would be large enough 

 for any extended area of rice lands. 



Moist Climate. Rice, to attain 

 its best development, also requires a 

 moist climate. With irrigation alone 

 . rice would mature among the moun- 

 tains of Tennessee, but the crop 

 would not compare in quality or 

 quantity with the crops grown along 

 the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and 

 hence could not compete with the lat- 

 PUMPING FROM WELLS. ter in the wor ld's markets. As an 



example, in Southern Louisiana the winds from the gulf are laden with 

 moisture, but the north winds are dry, and consequently the lands along the 

 south side of a lake or large pond usually produce two barrels per acre more 

 than on the north side, although other conditions of soil and moisture may be 

 equal. Again, the Island of Kiushu, Japan, produces on an average three bar- 



