12 POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



thin hair-like pedicels of an elegant loose panicle, less how- 

 ever than that of the Oat. Although several ill effects, and 

 even cholera* itself, have been attributed to the use of this 

 food, nevertheless these accusations are not well-founded, 

 for, on the contrary, rice appears from its astringency to 

 be admirably adapted to the use of the natives of warm cli- 

 mates, where it usually constitutes the staple food of the 

 lower classes. Its antiquity is very great : " Cast thy bread 

 upon the waters, and it shall return to thee after many 

 days," evidently applies to rice, which, in Egypt, is always 

 sown whilst the waters of the Nile still cover the surface of 

 the land ; the returning floods leave a thick deposit of rich 

 alluvial silt, in which the rice vegetates luxuriantly, being 

 naturally a marsh plant. The rice from the Southern States 

 of North America is decidedly the best, being much sweeter, 

 larger, and better-coloured than that of Asia, where its cul- 

 tivation is less carefully managed. The States of Carolina 

 produce the best American, and Patna the best East Indian 

 rice. 



Like wheat and other grain, the rice is that particular 



* In the 'Lancet/ 1833-4, vol. i., Dr. Tytler attributes malignant 

 cholera to the use of rice as food, in consequence of which he named the 

 disease morbus oryzeus. 



