i S 8 THE NEW AGRICULTURE. 



rice raising will hardly make a mistake in the acquisition 

 of these new lands. 



Rice has a higher nutritive value than any other cereal, 

 and the almost absolute certainty of producing a crop adds 

 to the attractiveness of the industry. Rice straw is about 

 equal to good prairie hay for stock, while the .hulls are a 

 better fertilizing material than the hulls of the cotton seed. 

 Rice forms the bulk of the food of one-half of the human 

 family. It has been claimed that the races fed upon it are small 

 of stature and inferior in mental caliber, but this statement is 

 now known to be without foundation in fact. The small 

 stature of the Oriental races is due partly to their manner 

 of sitting upon their legs, and much more to their inadequate 

 nourishment, due to poverty. The wealthy and the well-fed 

 among them are not deficient in bodily stature, neither are 

 they wanting in mental acumen. 



Rice is a grain which is more attractive to the eye than 

 either wheat or corn. It is abundantly nutritious, easily di- 

 gested, and when properly prepared and served, probably 

 as universally palatable as any other known food. Its pre- 

 vailing high price has hitherto prevented it from becoming 

 popular as a regular article of diet, but there is reason to be- 

 lieve that the future will see a very great extension of the 

 use of the cereal in this country; besides, it seems probable 

 that the methods of culture and management now in vogue 

 by the planters of the Southern States will make them in- 

 vincible competitors in the rice markets of the world. 



The angora goat, whose long, silky fleece is so highly 

 prized by manufacturers, was unknown as a commercial fac- 

 tor in this country until within very recent years. They are 



