62 



fats, and hence are ranked in flavour and nutrition among rice-eating 

 nations as much above Patna, which is very poor in fats, as well-fatten- 

 ed beef is esteemed superior to the lean animals of the range. A 

 botanical catalogue enumerates 161 varieties found in Ceylon alone, 

 while in Japan, China, and India, where its cultivation has gone on for 

 centuries, and where great care is usually taken in the improvement of 

 the crop by the selection of seed, no less than 1,400 varieties are said 

 to exist. 



PROSPECTS FOR EXTENSION OF RICE INDUSTRY. 



The outlook for the further extension of the industry is very prom- 

 ising. There has been recently quite an awakening among the far- 

 mers to the importance of this industry, so that there have been large 

 annual increases in the area planted. There is no sutisfactory reason 

 why the United States should not grow and mill all ot its own rice, 

 nor is there any reason why the United States should not become an 

 exporter. 



The Gold Seed South Carolina rice sells for as much as any rice in 

 the markets. The ordinary lowland rices are much better iti quality 

 than the ordinary (non-irrigated) upland rices, provided they are crrown 

 on soils which can be drained, but there is a great difference in different 

 varieties, especially in the hardness of the grain. The most desirable rice 

 from the standpoint of the grower is one which will produce the largest 

 amount of " head rice," that is, unbroken grains. Upland rices, or 

 lowland rices of poor quality, break up during the process of milling, 

 so that the percentage of head rice often averages only 40, or 30, or 

 sometimes even as low as 10 per cent of the entire crop. The Japanese 

 rices average ^^etter than the American as far as their milling qualities 

 are concerned, and for this reason it is desirable that Japanese rices 

 be more extensively introduced into this country, provided they main- 

 tain here the same characteristics as in their native country. The 

 Department of Agriculture has recently imported a small amount 

 (about 10 tons) of high-grade rice from Japan. 



There is the further consideration that, as will be explained below, 

 the adoption of the use of machinery in the rice fields similar to that 

 used in' the great wheat fields of California and the Dakotas is result- 

 ino- in a revolution in methods of cultivation, greatly reducing the cost. 

 The American rice grower, employing higher-priced labour than any 

 other rice grower of the world, will ultimately be able to market his 

 crop at the least cost and the greatest profit. If, in addition, the same 

 relative improvement can be secured in the rice itself; if varieties which 

 yield 80 to>90 per cent of head rice in the finished product can be suc- 

 cessfully introduced, American rice growers will be able to command 

 the highest prices for their product in the markets of the world. 



METHODS OF RfCE CULTIVATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The different rice-growing sections of the South use different me- 

 thods of irrigation, seeding, cultivation, harvesting, and curing. A 

 comprehensive report on the general subject of rice cultivation may be 

 best made by treating each of these sections or regions separately, thus 

 emphasizing points of difference or similarity. 



