2SS 



TvICE, 



An interesting report by Dr. E. Elliot, on the CultiTation of Eice. 

 was read before the Pendleton Farmer's Soeietv. South Carolina, at 

 a recent annual meeting, from which I shall make an extract. 



In " Uamsay's Histoiy of South. Carolina" it is stated : — " Landgrave Tliomas 

 Smitli, who Vas GoTernor of tlie Province in 1693, had been at Madagascar be- 

 fore he settled in Carolina. There he observed that rice -^as planted and grew in 

 low moist ground. Having such ground in his garden, attached to his dwelling 

 in East Bay, Charleston, he was persuaded that rice would grow therein, if seed 

 could be procured. About this time a vessel from Madagascar, being in distress, 

 came to anchor near Sullivan's Island. The master inquired for Mr. Smith, as 

 an old acquaintance. An. interview took place. In the course of conversation 

 Mr. Smith expressed a wish to obtain, some seed rice to plant in his garden. 

 The cook being called, said that he had a small bag of rice suitable for the pur- 

 pose. This was presented to Mr. Smith, who sowed it in a low spot in Longi- 

 tude Lane. From this small beginning did one of the great staple commodities 

 of South Caa'olina takes its rise, which soon became the ckief support of the 

 colony, and its great source of opulence." 



" Such is the historical account of the introduction of rice into South Caro- 

 lina ; and from that day to this, it has constituted one of her staple articles of 

 production. Although the climate and soil were found admirably suited to tbe 

 plant, the planters encountered incredible difficulty in preparing or dressing the 

 rice for market. From the day of its introduction, to the close of the Eevo - 

 lution, th.e grain was milled, or dressed, partly by hand and r .';rt-v I v animal 

 power. But the processes were imperfect, very tedious, very . to the 



laborer, and very exhausting to the animal power. The planter '.l .1 a good 



crop as an equivocal blessing, for as the product was great so in proportion was 

 the labor of preparing it for market. "While matters stood thus, the planters 

 were released from their painful condition by a circumstance so curious tbat it 

 deserves a place in the bistory of human inventions. A planter from the Santee, 

 whilst walking in King-street, Charleston, noticed a small windmill perched on 

 tbe gable end of a wooden store. His attention was arrested by the beauty of 

 its performance. He entered the store and asked wno the maker was. He was 

 told that he was a Northumbrian, then resident in the house — a man in neces- 

 sitous circumstances, and wanting employment. A conference was held ; the 

 planter carried the machine to the Santee, pointed out tbe difficulties under 

 which tbe planters labored, and the result was the rice pounding-mill. This 

 man was the first Mr. Lucas, and to his genius South Carolina owes a large 

 debt of gratitude. For what the cotton planter owes to Eli "SVhitney. the rice 

 planter owes to Mr. Lucas. His mills were first impelled by water, but more 

 recently by steam, and though much mechanical ingenuity and much capital bave 

 been expended in improving them, tlie rice potmding-niill of this day, in all^ssen- 

 tial particulars, does not difier materially from the mill as it came from the hands 

 of Mr. Lucas. 



This great impediment being removed, one formidable difficulty still remained 

 in the way of the rice planters, and that was the threshing of the crop by flail. 

 The labor requisite to accomplish this was so great, that we once heai'd a dis- 

 tinguished planter say, while having one large crop threshed out by flail, that 

 he would regard another large crop as a calamity. ProTious to 1S30 tkreshing 

 mills had been tried by various individuals, but with no apparent success. In 

 that year the attempt was renewed, and we were present and witnessed the fii'st 

 trial of a thresher, constructed in XewTork, and which ? re-' 1 on Sava nn ah 

 river, under the auspices of General Hamilton. Tbe rrr :r ^-.s diiven by 

 apparatus similar to that employed for diiving the cotte r. _:r. ^ result was 

 not very satisfactory, but there was grotmd for hox^e, and aiter an outlay of very 

 large sums, and after many disappointn^ents, the happy expedient was tbought 

 of, of testing the mill with steam instead of animal power. The experiment 

 was completely successful, and it was manifest at once th.at the difficulties had 

 not been in the imperfect construction of the thi-esher, but in the insufficiency 

 of the moving power. 



It is now twenty yeai's since we witnessed the working of the small mill 

 alluded to, and tbe rice tbreshing-mill, with steam-engine attached, is now a 

 splendid piece of operative machinery. The rice in sheaf is taken up to the 



