258 FIELD CROPS 



319. Uses of Rice and Rice Products. Rice is almost 

 entirely used as human food. In the United States, the 

 milling process consists in removing the hull and inner skin 

 of the grain and in polishing the kernel between pieces of 

 sheepskin to give it the luster required by the American 

 trade. The Orientals dispense with this polishing process, 

 and thus retain a large part of the food value of the rice 

 which we lose. The portion of the rice kernel which is 

 removed in the polishing process is more valuable relatively 

 than that which remains, as it contains nearly all the fat. 

 The by-products of the milling industry are rice hulls, rice 

 bran, and rice flour or polish. Rice hulls are of little value 

 except as fertilizer or mulch, for they contain a large per- 

 centage of fiber and little nutriment. Rice bran and rice 

 polish, however, are both valuable stock feeds. Rice straw 

 is about equal in feeding value to prairie hay, and is quite 

 largely used as rough feed for stock. It is also used to some 

 extent in the manufacture of straw hats, strawboard, and 

 other articles. 



THE GRAIN SORGHUMS 



320. Origin and History. The sorghums which are 

 grown in various parts of the world for grain and forage for 

 the most part have been developed in Asia and Africa. 

 A large number of very diverse forms have been produced, 

 including the many sweet or forage sorghums, the grain- 

 bearing varieties such as kafir, milo, and durra, and the fiber- 

 producing type, represented by broomcorn. The grain 

 sorghums are important crops for the production of food for 

 man and animals quite generally in Africa, India, and por- 

 tions of China. Their cultivation in the United States 

 dates back only to about 1875, though some of the types had 



