16 Bulletin 1356, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
vested their money in extending and improving the canal systems, 
in building rice mills, and in purchasing large tracts of land. The 
renting of these lands on short-term leases became the accepted 
custom in this section of the State. 
The system of farming on short-term leases centered on immediate 
returns, regardless of the effect upon the land or the future status of the 
rice industry. No effort was made to control weeds or to maintain 
production. As long as there was an abundance of virgin soil, 
neither farmer nor landlord gave any attention to conserving soil 
fertility. Within less than two decades the cultural methods prac- 
ticed during the early years of rice growing greatly reduced the 
plant food of these prairie soils and likewise seriously affected pro- 
duction. On account of low yields, a large part of each farm re- 
mained unplowed for a time. However, it was soon noted that these 
soils responded profitably to cultivation when prepared for rice 
after a complete rest of three years. This observation led to the 
general practice of grazing lands which had been cropped to rice 
for three. to five years. Production improved somewhat under such 
treatment, but weeds, especially red rice, were not brought under 
control. The acreage that was not under cultivation was often too 
large to be grazed closely enough by available cattle to have much 
effect in the control of red rice. This weed survived under pasture 
conditions and especially on poorly drained land. Commercial ferti- 
lizers also were used by many- tenant farmers in the belief that yields 
could be maintained regardless of poor soil preparation, but these 
methods resulted in yields that did not warrant the expense of 
applying fertilizers. Later it was noted that good crops were pro- 
duced on well-drained soils when given good preparation. 
The experiments here discussed were designed to determine the 
value of commercial fertilizer's on Crowley silt loam and the proper 
procedure for maintaining soil fertility. The land used for these 
experiments was well drained and was practically free from weed 
growth. Prior to 1918 the land had been sown to rice in rotation 
with soybeans, the season of 1918 being the last in which soybeans 
were grown. As a result of this rotation and the practice of turning 
under the mature soybean plants after harvesting the beans, the 
soil was in good physical condition and was well supplied with 
organic matter at the beginning of the fertilizer experiments. Plow- 
ing was done in winter to a depth of 5 to 7 inches. The fertilizers 
were applied broadcast by hand and harrowed in before seeding. 
The manure was applied in the same way but was disked in before 
seeding. Each plat being inclosed by levees and irrigated and 
drained independently, the fertilizers were not conveyed beyond the 
limits of the individual plats. The rice was sown approximately on 
May 1 in a well-prepared seed bed with a drill at a depth of 2 inches 
and at a rate of 80 pounds of seed per acre. In this experiment the 
Wataribune variety was used. The results are given in Table 13. 
Acid phosphate containing 16 per cent of available phosphoric 
acid did not increase the yield of rice either when applied alone or 
with other fertilizers. The low yields that were obtained from the 
use of acid phosphate may be explained in part by increased weed 
growth, especially sedges, which invariably followed an application 
oi this fertilizer either alone or in combination. Even the winter 
growth of weeds on plowed land was more noticeable on plats receiv- 
