ECONOMIC PLANTS 



211 



Rice. This grain, one of the most useful and ex- 

 tensively cultivated of all grains, supplies the staple 



FIG. 108. A Field of Rice. 



food of nearly one third of the human race. Originally 

 a native of the East Indies, it is now cultivated in all 

 quarters of the globe where conditions of warmth and 

 moisture are suitable ; in subtropical countries where 

 there is much moisture in the soil, the rice plant thrives 

 well. The head of the rice plant is bearded like barley, 

 but is borne in loose heads, or panicles, at the top of 



