THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



35 



frequently sells at from $3 to S3. 50 per barrel for milling purposes, and from 

 $4 to 5 per barrel for seed rice. There is no crop grDwn in the world that has 

 brought as great prosperity to the homes of the farmers as that of rice. It has 

 made more men rich and more farmers comfortable than any one crop, taking 

 into consideration the acreage, than any ever plau.tdd on the American conti- 

 nent. There are thousands of acres of splendid rice lands undeveloped in South 

 Texas, which awaits development and offer golden opportunities to those who 

 will avail themselves of the chance. The history of the rice farmers of South- 

 west Louisiana and Southeast Texas reads almost like Arabian night tales, and 

 in many instances is not believed as being considered reasonable, but never- 

 theless is a fact. 



Rice is handled exactly the same as wheat, except one is irrigated and the 

 other is not. A barrel of rice weighs 162 pounds and is sold by that weight, 



A TENANT HOUSE IN THE RTCE FIELDS. 



and a bushel of rice weighs 40^ pounds. A barrel of rice milled gives 100 

 pounds of clean rice, 20 pounds of bran and ]5 pounds of polish. The 100 

 pounds would be divided as follows: 60 pounds of head rice, 25 pounds of No. 2, 

 and 15 pounds of brewery rice. The bran is splendid stock feed and the polish 

 is used for manufacturing purposes, and is also shipped to Europe for feed stuff. 



As regards the soil; this matters but little as far as rice culture is con- 

 cerned. Any level prairie land with clay subsoil will grow rice of a good quali- 

 ty, and land consisting of a knob of clay and a knob of soil is just as good and 

 will raise just as high quality of rice. It is best, however, in purchasing rice 

 land, which can be done in South Texas in almost any 'county, to get your land 

 suited to rice as well as other crops, so the farmer can rotate if he cares to do 

 so and which may have to be the case in years to come. 



There is no failure in the rice crop, and the farmer can make his calculations 

 as to his income with a certainty that is characteristic of no other crop planted." 



