( 5 ) 
Soils. The best rice soils are the rich, heavy, 
clay loams which are found most 
abundantly in the coastal regions and in the valleys 
between the hills. 
Sandy and peaty soils must be rigidly avoided, 
though the latter type can be utilised provided that 
the peat is only a few inches deep and rests on a 
good clay foundation, and that the area is drainable. 
Sandy soils are useless for padi cultivation unless 
they contain a large quantity of humus and are 
well irrigated; but at the best, only poor crops can 
be expected. 
Cultivation. There are two forms of cultivation (a) 
wet, (b) dry. 
More than 90% of the rice grown in Malaya is 
grown under wet cultivation methods, since wet padi 
is very much more productive than padi grown under 
dry conditions. 
(a) Wet Generally speaking, the more tillage 
Rice the land receives the better. The 
Cultivation, fallow grasses and weeds are usually 
cut down as the first operation. Then 
the land is either ploughed or dug over and the 
weeds are incorporated with the soil. Following 
this, water is run on to the land, which is then 
puddled by buffaloes or by rolling, raked free of 
weeds, and finally brought to a consistent muddy 
condition for planting seedlings. The seed is usually 
