Edible Products. 44 [Jan. 1908. 



the drainage given by 3 feet is rapid and effective. Tidal deltas are largely given 

 over to rice culture. In such localities land is selected far enough from the sea to 

 get fresh water. Suitable lands, however, are found in many places where these 

 conditions are not found, none of which can be regarded as absolutely essential. 

 There are good rice lands that do not border on and are not near streams affected 

 by the tide. There are rice lands above high tide and rice lands below low tide and 

 rice lands so close to the ocean that the water of bordering: streams is as brackish as 

 the brine from the sea. A rice-producing soil, if above high tide or so near the 

 ocean that the water from a bordering stream cannot be used, may be irrigated by 

 water from wells, reservoirs or inland lakes ; if below tide, it may be drained by 

 pumps. 



While low-lying areas easily irrigated and drained constitute the principal 

 part of the acreage used for rice culture, there are fertile uplands, lands that cannot 

 be irrigated in any way, that produce some varieties of rice. On such lands, how- 

 ever, the yield is small and the quality often inferior. Experiments have shown 

 that there are large areas in the United States where upland rice can be grown at a 

 profit. Marshes are found on the highlands of Georgia and the Carolinas that are 

 easily irrigated and drained. 



Medium loams, underlaid by a stiff subsoil, are well suited for growing rice. 

 The substratum facilitates drainage and makes the land firm enough to allow the 

 use of harvesting machinery. Among these are the lands formed by the decomposi- 

 tion of vegetation and deposits from the fresh water carried in the small streams 

 from the interior which are distributed over the lands at high tide, and also the lands 

 reclaimed from the marshes or swamps. Only such marshes as can be drained and 

 irrigated from reservoirs, or by water pumped from fresh water streams can be 

 utilised. Lands that are much elevated above the tide water are usually too poor 

 for the profitable cultivation of rice. Soils containing a large percentage of gravel 

 or sand are not suitable for this industry, from the fact that they dry too readily 

 and will not hold sufficient moisture, A sandy soil, however, is sometimes found 

 with a subsoil stiff enough to prevent the land from becoming too dry. On such 

 lands one or two medium crops can be raised, seldom more. 



Varieties of rice differ in shape, size and colour of grain in the proportion of 

 food contained and in flavour. 



In the Atlantic Coast States there are two principal varieties, the " gold seed " 

 and the " white rice." The " gold seed " derives its name from the yellowish colour of 

 the husk when ripe. This variety is extensively grown in the low lands of North and 

 South Carolina, and is famous for its yield and quality. The " white rice " takes its 

 name from the whitish colour of its husk and is valued for its early maturity. In the 

 late plantings, which are in June, this variety is usually sown. 



Irrigation.— The methods of irrigation are various and often crude, in fa^t 

 the system of the colonial planter is still in use in many places. A common practice 

 is the following :— 



Suitable land being selected, a bank about 6 feet high, 35 feet wide at the 

 bott om and 12 feet on the top, is thrown up along the river. A main canal is then 

 cut, which reaches from the river through the plantation. On each side of this 

 main canal, and running parallel with it, banks are thrown up, which join the bank 

 along the river and follow the main canal throughout its entire length. Along these 

 banks are fields or squares formed by check banks, some of which run at right angles, 

 some parallel to the main canal. Within each of these squares, and about 20 feet 

 from its bank, is a marginal canal or face ditch. Within this occurs the last and 

 final division of the rice field. These divisions, called beds, are strips of land 

 about 50 feet wide and of various lengths, formed by parallel ditches extending 

 from the marginal canal on one side of the field to the marginal canal on the 



