RICE. 83 



in America is of very modern occurrence. The 

 author of a work ' On the importance of the British 

 Plantations in America,' which was published in 

 London during the year 1701, has recorded, as a 

 circumstance then recent, that ' a brigantine from 

 the island of Madagascar happened to put in at 

 Carolina, having a little seed-rice left, which the 

 captain gave to a gentleman of the name of Wood- 

 ward. From part of this he had a very good crop, 

 but was ignorant for some years how to clean it. 

 It was soon dispersed over the province, and by 

 frequent experiments and observations, they found 

 out ways of producing and manufacturing it to 

 so great perfection, that it is thought to exceed any 

 other in value. The writer of this hath seen the 

 said captain in Carolina, where he received a hand- 

 some gratuity from the gentlemen of that country, 

 in acknowledgment of the service he had done the 

 province. It is likewise reported, that Mr Dubois, 

 then Treasurer of the East India Company, did send 

 to that country a small bag of seed-rice some short 

 time after, from whence it is reasonable enough to 

 suppose might come those two sorts of that com- 

 modity ; the one called red rice, in contradistinction 

 to the white, from the redness of the inner husk or 

 rind of this sort, alhough they both clean and 

 become white alike.' 



There is a trifling discrepancy between the latter 

 part of this account, and the statement respecting 

 Mr Ashley already mentioned in a former chapter ; 

 but the main fact and the time of its occurrence are 

 the same, and it is probable that the latter gentleman 

 may have acted in the matter under the instruction of 

 Mr Dubois. 



The swamps of South Carolina, both those which 

 are occasioned by tho periodical visits of the tides, 

 and those which are caused by the inland floodings 



