Edible Products. 



182 



[Feb. 1908. 



will be the means of materially adding 

 to the farming profits of this class. The 

 rice cultivators of Chhatisgarh should 

 give a careful trial to the system of trans- 

 planting. The outturn is much larger 

 than by the biasi system, and in ordinary 

 years tlie crop will grow quite as much 

 without irrigation. Transplanted rice 

 requires more rainfall, but there seems 

 to be no good reason why this method 

 should not be followed in 

 commanded by irrigation. - 

 Agriculturist, No. I, 19Q7. 



dl rice land 

 -Tue Indian 



REPORT ON THE RICE INDUSTRY" 

 IN THE UNITED STATES. 

 By Mr. E. Seymour Bell, 

 British Comr.\ercial Agent in tha 

 United States. 

 (Continued from p. 4-5.) 



Seed.— Great care is used in selecting 

 seed that it be free from self-set rice, 

 weed seed and the seed of injurious 

 grasses, that the kernels be hard and 

 flinty, solid and of uniform size. Uni- 

 form kernels are valued because they 

 permit of a higher polish than do ker- 

 nels that va.y. 



Japanese growers consider the bil- 

 lowing points important for the success- 

 ful growing of rice: — 



1. The seed should be pure-bred, o 

 even quality and size of grain. 



2. Any light or imperfect grains should 

 be removed. This is done in Japan by 

 soaking the seed rice in water several 

 days till it is about ready to sprout, 

 when it is thrown into saltwater of. 1*3 

 specific gravity and allowed to remain 

 two minutes, being gently stirred mean- 

 while. The light grains will float, the 

 others are removed, washed in cold 

 water and plained. When a seed drill is 

 to be used the damp seed is first dried by 

 being rolled in the ashes of rice straw. 



3. Even sprouting of the grains is very 

 essential to even ripening of the crop. 

 This is accomplished by previously soak- 

 ing the seed as above stated. 



The seed is sown in March and April. 

 A later crop is sometimes sown in June. 

 For this the white seed is used on 

 account of early maturity. The time of 

 sowing, also, differs in different sections, 

 and is affected by weather conditions 

 and the rnoveiuems of the bobolink (rice- 

 bird). Sowing is usually done as soon as 

 possible after the ground is put in con-, 

 ditiou. 



Rice is generally planted with a drill 

 in rows 14 inches apart and covered by 

 means of a harrow. The drill is gauged 



to put in from 54 to 81 lbs. of unhulled 

 seed to the acre. In some fields trenches 

 about 2 inches deep and 14 inches apart 

 are made with trenching hoes and the 

 seed dropped in and covered. Some- 

 times, in order to save time and labour, 

 the trench is left open, the seed having 

 been clayed in order to prevent it from 

 floating when the field is flooded- This 

 is the open trench method, and for it the 

 seed is always clayed. (Haying consists 

 in stirring the seed in clayed water until 

 a coat of clay covers each grain. 



In the North Carolina uplands the 

 common corn drill is used in planting. 

 Planting with a drill insures equal distri- 

 bution, one of the essentials for the 

 greatest productivity of a given piece ol 

 land. The amount sown per acre varies ; 

 the average, however, is estimated at 

 three bushels. 



In some localities birds steal the grain 

 while it is being sown. To prevent this 

 the seed is sometimes tarred, i.e., given 

 a coat of tar. This method, though a 

 protection, is not an absolute one, as 

 birds have been killed whose craws were 

 filled with the black grains, and whose 

 flesh itself tasted of the tar. 



Flooding —One of ihe most important 

 features in the culture of rice is flooding. 

 Man, planters flood the field immedi- 

 ately after the seed is sown, planting and 

 watering on the same day- This water, 

 called the '' sprout flow," protects the 

 grain from the birds and causes germin- 

 ation. The sprout flow is left on the 

 field till the seed sprouts. In early 

 planting this requires from six to eight 

 days. Rice planted in June sprouts in 

 twenty-four hours. When the sprout- 

 flow is taken off the field remains with- 

 out water until the plants come up, and 

 the rows across the field can be plainly 

 seen when the water is again turned on. 

 This is called the "stretch flow," and 

 remains On the field until the plants are 

 5k or 6 inches in height. This requires 

 from two to six days, the time depending 

 very largely on weather conditions. The 

 stretch-flow serves the double purpose 

 of rendering nourishment available to 

 the rice plant, and impeding and des- 

 troying the growth of weeds and inju- 

 rious grasses. 



When the plants have grown suffi- 

 ciently high under the stretch-flow, the 

 water is gradually lowered to an average 

 depth of 4 inches, where it remains from 

 13 to 30 days, according to the strength 

 of the soil, the condition of the plants 

 and the temperature. The stretch-flow 

 is taken off and followed by the "dry 

 growth," which lasts from 40 to 45 days. 

 During this period the crop is cultivated 



