Dec., I860.] ELLIOTT SOCIETY. 43 



suit the general level of the field. As the Rice grows during this Flow the wa- 

 ter is raised gradually until all parts of the field are covered. Its object is to 

 destroy a crop of grass and to hasten the growth of the plant, esijecially in the 

 lower parts of the field, that, by bringing it all more nearly to a level, it may 

 be watered to more advantage in the next flow. 



Sufficient time having been allowed for the Rice to put out new roots deeply, 

 in place of those superficial ones which supported the plant during the flow, it 

 is again hoed, now with a 5 in. hoe, and all grass is carefully picked out of the 

 Rice-row. In the earlier plantings, a fourth hoeing is given 10 or 15 days after 

 the third. And now the final flow or '' Lay-hy Water " is put on. This is pu- 

 on deep enough to cover the highest parts of the field if the plant in the lower 

 parts is sufficiently taU, and it is gradually raised as the Rice grows, until it 

 stands half-way up the stalk of the full grown plant. This Flow is continued 

 until Harvest, the water being changed once or twice a week, at night. 



As the planting season extends through a space of 6 or 8 weeks, in the later 

 planted Rice there must necessarily be a modification of the watering, more 

 water and less dry growth being given in proportion to the lateness of the plant- 

 ing. 



The above is a mere outline of the mode of cultivating this staple. There 

 are many details which it is unnecessary to mention, and many deviations from, 

 and modifications of the process described ; as, first, in the " Open Trench " 

 system of planting. In this, the Rice, before being sown, is "clayed," that is, 

 has a coating of clay given to each grain, by rubbing the Rice in water in which 

 clay is suspended ; and it is flowed without being covered with earth. ( With- 

 out this preparation, the grain would float when the water is put on, being 

 buoyed up by a thin stratum of air immediately in contact with the chaff, which 

 the hairy coating of the chaff prevents the water from displacing. ) When Rice 

 is planted " open trench," the Sprout Flow is kept on much longer than when 

 covered — say from 14 to 21 days, according to the temperature of the season. 

 The after-treatment may be the same as in covered Rice. Its advantages are 

 the saving of the labor of covering, and, generally, of one hoeing. Another 

 modification is to make the Point Flow from 12 to 20 days instead of 4 or 5. 

 This is to save labor by destrojang the early crop of grass (particularly the 

 Water Crab, Ceresia fliiWms,) by entire submergence. Another method is to 

 give the Rice no water after a short Point untU it has been several times hoed, 

 and then to give it the Lay-by Flow early. This plan is particularly good when 

 the stand is thin, as, during the long dry growth, the plant branches or ' ' tillers " 

 freely, but it requires the free use of the hoe. Another plan is to continue the 

 water from the Point Flow to the Harvest. In this method of culture, the 

 water is "slacked down," and the fields "dragged through" with the hoe, and 

 the grass picked out by hand. 



There are some other modifications practised, each Cultivator having some 

 fancy of his own, but the aim of all methods is to destroy grasses and to hasten 

 the growth of the Rice. 



About the last week in .\ugust or the first in September, the earlier Rice is 

 ready for the sickle. A field is considered ripe for cutting when the grains are 



