64 





Length of 

 the grain. 



Circumfer. 

 ence around 

 shorter axis. 



Number of 

 grains in one 

 Troy once. 



Gold seed, long grain .... 

 Gold seed, short grain .... 

 White rice ....... 



Inches. 

 0.417 

 0.375 

 0.375 



Inches. 

 0.375 

 0.375 

 0.374 



841 

 896 

 960 





r::LTA 



LANDS. 







A large proportion of the rice grown in South Carolina and 

 Georgia is produced on tidal deltas. A body of land ;ilong so!rie river 

 and sufficiently remote from the sea to he free from salt water is selected 

 with reference to the possibility of flooding it from the river at high tide 

 and of draining it at low tide. 



Canals and levees. — A canal is excavated on the outer rim of this 

 tract, completely inclosing the field. The excavated dirt is thrown 

 upon the outer bank. The canal must be of sufficient capacity for irri- 

 gation and drainage, and must also furnish dirt to make a levee which 

 will provide perfect protection against the encroachments of the river 

 at ail seasons. The tract is then cut up by smaller canals into fields of 

 10 to 12 acres, making small levees on the border of each field. The 

 fields are subdivided by ditches into strips 20 or 30 feet wide for culti- 

 vation. The entire tract is usually nearly level, but if there should be 

 any inequality care must be taken that the surface of each subSeld be 

 level. The main canal is 10 to 30 feet wide and about 4 feet deep, and 

 connects with the river by flood gates. Through these canals boats of 

 considerable tonnage have ready access to the entire circuit of the 

 tract, while smaller boats can pass along the subcanals to the several 

 fields. The subcanals are usually from 6 to 10 feet in width and should 

 be nearly as deep as the main canal. 



Drainage. — Perfect drainage is one of the most important consider- 

 ations in rice farming, because upon it depends the proper condition of 

 the soil for planting. It may appear unimportant that a water plant 

 like rice should have aerated and finely pulverized soil for the seed bed, 

 but such is the case. Thorough cultivation seems to be as beneficial 

 to rice as to wheat. Complete and rapid drainage at harvest always 

 insures the saving of the crop under the host conditions and reduces 

 the expense of the harvest. On 500 acres of such land, well prepared, 

 there should be 65 to 80 miles of ditches, canals, and embankment. 



If there are logs, stumps,or stones in the field they must be removed. 

 When practicable the rice lands are flooded from the river and find 

 drainage by a canal or subsidiary stream that enters the river at a lower 

 level. The embankment must be sufficient to protect the rice against 

 either freshets or salt water. Freshets are injurious to growing rice, 

 not only because of the volume of water but by reason of the tempera- 

 ture. A great body of water descending rapidly from the mountains to 

 the sea is several degrees colder than water under the ordinary flow. 

 Any large amount of this cold water admitted to the field, not only 

 retards the growth but is a positive injury to the crop. In periods of 

 continued drought the salt water of the sea frequently ascends the 



