212 ECONOMIC PLANTS 



the stem somewhat as in oats, and when unhusked 

 resembles barley. 



In China rice is sown in seed beds and afterwards 

 transplanted. The rice grounds are carefully kept 

 free from weeds, although often so wet that a man 

 cannot walk in them without sinking to the knees. 

 In many parts of China two crops a year are obtained. 



In South Carolina, where the best rice known in 

 the market is grown, although not in large quantities, 

 the grain is sown in rows in the bottom of trenches 

 about 1 8 inches apart, the trenches are filled with 

 water to the depth of several inches till the seeds 

 germinate, the water is then drawn off and later the 

 field is flooded again for two weeks to kill the weeds. 

 When the grain is near maturity, the field is flooded 

 again. 



It might be supposed that marshy lands were 

 adapted to the culture of the grain, but it has been found 

 that land where there is always the same abundance 

 of water is not so suitable as those in which the supply 

 of moisture can be regulated according to the season 

 and the growth of the plant. Louisiana, Arkansas, 

 and Texas have good soils for rice culture. There 

 the grain is planted with drills just as wheat is in 

 northern latitudes, and water is turned on when the 

 plants are from five to six inches high. 



Rice is harvested, threshed, winnowed, and placed 

 in sacks much as wheat is, the land by the time the 

 grain is fully matured being compact enough to bear 

 the weight of machinery. Rice yields much more 

 grain than wheat to the acre and brings about the same 

 price, but as the cost of production is greater it may not 

 be a more profitable crop. 



