Edible Products. 



800 



[October, 1011, 



most satisfactory arrangement we have 

 found in our experience is one, whereby , 

 the irrigation trench runs across the 

 ' tops ' of tne beds immediately outside 

 the head dam, through which small 

 wooden 'kokers' are placed in order 

 that water can be admitted to any bed 

 independently of the others. The beds 

 are made to slope sufficiently with a 

 shallow drain down the middle of each, 

 so that the drainage is accomplished at 

 the ends of the beds away from the 

 irrigation trench. This system of irri- 

 gation and drainage has worked satis- 

 factorily on the rice fields at the Botanic 

 Gardens, and these fields should be 

 visited by all who contemplate improve- 

 ments in their rice cultivation in this 

 direction. 



In throwing up the dams between the 

 beds, care must be taken to remove as 

 little as possible of the surface soil from 

 the beds, or otherwise, if soil is taken 

 off too deeply, a heavy, frequently 

 alkaline subsoil is reached, which will 

 only give small yields. Poor yields are 

 often the result of taking off too deep a 

 layer of soil for making up unneces- 

 sarily high dams. The security of the 

 dams must be carefully attended to, tor 

 proper attention to the dams is one of 

 the most important duties of the rice 

 cultivator. 



Cultivation. 

 The best land for rice is clay-loam 

 with an almost impervious subsoil. It 

 should be carefully forked or ploughed 

 four to five weeks before the crop is to 

 be planted. This forking or plougbiug 

 should not be deeper than about 6 

 inches, or otherwise the sub-soil may be 

 turned to the surface, and the yields 

 reduced. The depth to which land may 

 be forked or ploughed varies with the 

 locality, and experience soon indicates 

 the correct depth to adopt. The first 

 part of the land to be cultivated should, 

 however, be the nursery. This should 

 be carefully chosen and should be on the 

 veiy best land, where a good supply of 

 water can be obtained. Sufficient care is 

 not usually taken in the choice of suit- 

 able nurseries. On this choice, particu- 

 larly if the weather conditions are 

 unfavourable, often depends the success 

 or the failure of the crop, and therefore 

 the selection of good land cannot be 

 too strongly emphasized. The nursery 

 should be flooded as soon as possible 

 after forking and levelled ready for 

 planting seed. During the four weeks 

 that the seedlings are growing in 

 the nursery the cultivator must turn 

 his attention to the land for the 

 general planting. It lias to be forked 

 or ploughed, levelled and prepared for 



the young plants that are to be trans- 

 planted. The breaking down of the soil 

 after the forking is usually done by the 

 hoes or by means of primitive harrows, 

 and levelling is accomplished by drag- 

 ging a log of wood backwards and 

 forwards, or by inverting the harrow 

 and drawing that across the beds. The 

 land should resemble ' drift mud' before 

 it can be considered to be in a first-class 

 condition for transplanting, but this 

 thorough breaking up of the soil should 

 not be more than 4 inches in depth. 



Selection of Varieties. 



V arieties of rice are very numerous, 

 and 200 of them have been experimented 

 with at the Experimental Fields since 

 1903. The best varieties of rice cultivated 

 in other rice-growing countries have 

 been obtained and submitted to very 

 careful comparative trials as to their 

 yielding powers under conditions similar 

 to those existing on the coast lands of 

 the colony. Prom these varieties, three, 

 viz., Nos. 75 (Suthra dhan), 3 and 6 have 

 consistently given better returns than 

 the Creole varieties, and large quantities 

 of their seed paddy have been distribut- 

 ed free to numerous growers. These 

 varieties are all long-grained, such as are 

 demanded by the local rice market, and 

 they all possess good milling qualities. 



The Agricultural Superintendent thus 

 describes them : — 



" Creole, — Grain long, very slightly tip- 

 ped at apex with red spot, light 

 green, awns absent; stalk dark 

 green, very slightly tinged with 

 purple. Growth medium to vi- 

 gorous. 



No. 3.— Grain long, light green, ends 

 tipped, awns absent ; stalk green 

 with a faintest touch of purple. 

 Growth vigorous. 



No. 6. — Grain slightly tipped at apex, 

 light green colour, awns absent; 

 stalk dark green, very slightly 

 touched with purple. Growth 

 medium to strong. 



No. 75. — (Suthra dhan)— Grain long light 

 green with red tips, awns absent; 

 stalk dark green tinged with 

 purple- Growth medium to vi- 

 gorous." 



Nos. 3, 6 and 75 are all of the best type 

 and apparently are closely allied to the 

 Creole rice of the colony. Barley-grained 

 varieties have also been experimented 

 with, and small quantities are being 

 grown experimentally in order to serve 

 for seed, should the condition of the 

 market at any time demand a barley- 

 grain. While fresh importations of 

 other varieties will take place from time 



