October, 1911.] 



303 



Edible Products. 



After-Cultivation. 



Plants after transplanting: usually lie 

 'flat 'for a day or two and then com- 

 mence to stand upright. In a week, if 

 the land has been well prepared, they 

 will have taken root. In irrigable 

 areas as soon as a bed has been trans- 

 planted, water should be cautiously run 

 on and its depth regulated, but in any 

 case it must not be more than 2 inches 

 deep until the plants have taken root. 

 The rice is now kept irrigated until the 

 ripening stage is reached, and the depth 

 of the water should be from 2 to 3 inches 

 as a minimum, 5 to 6 inches as a maxi 

 mum, the depth being regulated accord- 

 ing to the growth of the plants. It is 

 estimated that a crop of rice in this 

 colony, to give the maximum returns, 

 requires from 12 to 18 acre-inches of 

 water per year according to the season, 

 in addition to the rain that falls. 

 Planters of non-irrigable rice lands are 

 wholly dependent upon the season for 

 satisfactory returns, and therefore they 

 should be most particular to adhere to 

 the proper sowing and planting season 

 of April and May. 



Two weedings should generally be 

 given to a rice crop after it has been 

 transplanted. These are usually given 

 in the early period of growth, for trans- 

 planted rice soon commences to tiller 

 and therefore satisfactorily keeps down 

 weeds. 



Manuring. 

 In British Guiana applications of 

 manures are not given to rice. Legu- 

 minous and other weeds are allowed to 

 cover the beds after the rice is cut, and 

 this material is usually either forked 

 or ploughed in. It is possible that at a 

 later date it will be of advantage to sow 

 leguminous crops in the ' off ' parts of 

 the year to be forked or ploughed in as 

 green dressings. 



Where rice becomes ' lodged ' (or ' laid') 

 it is evident that the land is sufficiently 

 rich in nitrogen to grow large quantities 

 of straw, and that nitrogenous manures 

 are not required. After continuous 

 cultivation for some years, the readily 

 available nitrogen may become exhaust- 

 ed. Experiments at the Botanic Gardens 

 indicate that phosphates may be desir- 

 able as manure for rice, and that potash 

 will be required after a few years of 

 continuous cultivation. Bush water 

 contains a relatively large quantity of 

 nitrogen and potash, and where this is 

 used for irrigation it may not be neces- 

 sary to consider the application of any 

 artificial manures except possibly that of 

 phosphates. Applications of lime are 

 not advisable. A considerable waste of 



rice straw is occasioned every year by 

 burning, and it would be worth while 

 considering whether this could not econ- 

 omically be made into manure to be 

 used in the nursery beds, for it is gener- 

 ally recognised that the nursery should 

 be manured wherever possible. 



In some rice-growing countries, especi- 

 ally in Japan, the question of manuring 

 is regarded as of great importance, and 

 numerous researches are being carried 

 on with regard to it. Preference is given 

 to applications of vegetable composts, 

 animal manures, and of other organic 

 substances. The application of bone 

 dust has been found profitable. The 

 investigations however are showing that 

 on laad deficient in nitrogen, and where 

 the irrigation waters supply but little 

 nitrogen, application of sulphate of 

 ammonia, of lime-nitrogen and, in places, 

 of sodium nitrate are efficacious in mate- 

 rially increasing the yield of the cereal. 



Period of Growth and Reaping. 



The period of growth varies with the 

 variety. It is usually about four months, 

 but may extend to as much as six 

 months. Several early maturing varie- 

 ties have been experimented with, and 

 it has been found that whereas they 

 retain their power of early maturity 

 during the first one or two crops, they 

 later adapt themselves to the conditions 

 of the colony, and take about the same 

 period to reach maturity as the local 

 varieties. Early maturing varieties 

 usuallv give a smaller total crop, and 

 the returns of paddy per acre are 

 generally less. If it is desired to plant 

 early maturing varieties, it will be found 

 necessary to import fresh seed from its 

 country of origin at short intervals. 



As the heads begin to change colour 

 and the grain reaches the ' dough ' or 

 ' ripening ' stage the irrigation water 

 should be entirely run off. Ripening 

 now takes place, and it is essential that 

 the beds should be kept quite dry, or 

 otherwise the proper degree of hardness 

 of grain is not obtained. The ripening 

 takes from two to three weeks, and when 

 the grain is full and sufficiently mature 

 it is cut by hand. In India, it is the 

 common practice when the standing 

 crop is fully ready for reaping to ' fell' 

 it flat to the ground with large bamboo 

 poles, for it is thought that reaping is 

 thereby greatly facilitated. This prac- 

 tice might be given a trial in this colony, 

 where the rice has not been ' laid ' by 

 rain or wind storms. 



The cut rice is either beaten out im- 

 mediately or bound into sheaves and 

 left for a day or so on the beds or upon 

 the dams, or ' stooked ' (or ' shooked ') up 



