Show II AMERICAN RICE GROWERS BY FREDERIC J HASKIN The increase in the production and consumption of rice in this country has led some students of economics to be believe believe lieve that the United States is about to Join the ranks of the nations which at present pre ent Include Japan China India and other Important countries Al AI Already Already ready the rice industry of America is enormous and constantly con increasing In ex extent extent extent tent This nals plant adopted from the old world Is la doing do ng even better in the Unit United United United ed States Stales than it does in its original habitat hab habitat habItat However the department of agriculture is carrying on extensive experiments with witha a view to improving the crop Recently It has been decided to establish a sub experiment station statton at Crowley Crowl y La where work will wUl be conducted in co operation cooperation with the state The rhe people of that section are so o interested In the scheme that they have bave furnished land and buildings foi for the station and Louisiana will pay all the expense of maintaining the plant The fhe federal department will lend the services of Its experts exper and furnish advice and as u assistance assistance The department has a rice farm tarm in South Carolina where breeding and se set selection lection work has been n going on for some sometime sometime sometime time The efforts of the experts at that point Jl are largely largel confined to fighting a fungous disease known as rotten neck lle k which has attacked the Carolina rice crop for years doing incalculable damage Re Recently Recently the government has ball obtained a II number of new varieties of rice from Italy which appear ap r to be bf Immune as against disease The Th department Is cooperating co cooperating operating in rice work wok with the state of Arkansas Arkan as and a 8 government rice 1100 farm will soon be established established in Texas The newest newt experiments in rice rl cultivation cultivation tion are being carried on In California People in to the Sacramento valley have become convinced that they fan can n grow rice and the government is III working out with several large laree Irrigation concern the various allous problems Involved The Indica Indies Indications indications lions are that the experiments will be bf successful and that a Ii supply of the ce cereal cereal e ereal real for the thousands of Chinese and Japanese on the Pa coast thus will willbe willbe willbe be obtained The southern rice does not suit the taste tute of Orientals so those on the Pacific coast t Import t their supply from Asia The department has imported hun hundreds drade dr ds of varieties from the Philippines India Japan Jaban Ja an China Siam Slam Ceylon Celon Italy and other countries Scores have been abandoned after atter trial but some Orne good va varieties varieties have been discovered and their cultivation has spread pread There are 1400 varieties of rice Rice Ilk was waa introduced into America Amerla be before before before fore 1817 In that year Sir William Berkeley is I said Id to have raised rallied a small crop in the colony of Virginia Mada Madagascar Ma Madagascar gascar rice was waa first planted in South Carolina in lew 1884 according to former Governor Gov Governor Governor Alston Allton of that state It is ill said that thata a sea captain homeward bound from Madagascar was wa driven into Charleston harbor by stress of weather and called on Governor Thomas Smith and presented him with a small bag bA of ot rice rI e seed This Tills the governor planted in a moist spot in I his garden and that was the beginning of the South Carolina rice industry Indu tl I which flourished for tor nearly two centuries centuries ries rles It Is l said that the exact spot where Governor Smiths first rice crop was s har harvested harv harvested vested v sted is still pointed out Until the outbreak of the Civil war rice culture was confined eon tined almost entire ly to the Carolinas Carolines and Georgia but the great conflict almost destroyed the in industry Industry industry in those tho e states Meanwhile it had been taken up In Loul Louisiana lana and Texas There were millions of acres of seemingly valueless land along the gulf ulf coast at that time which suggested might be used for tor growing rice To Dr H S Knapp now a venerable of the department of ture but then an expert In the prime of ot life lite fell the task of supervising the work of developing southwestern Louisiana and Texas Farmers from om the northwestern states were induced to settle on the pros prospective pre prospective rice farms canals and irrigating ditches were dug and then the problem of cultivation was tackled It was de to supersede the old hand band meth methods method methods od with modern machine methods If possible pos possible 08 sible The agricultural machinery which made the bonanza wheat farms of the Dako tas possible was tried Most Mo t of It worked well steam and horse power doing the work of men Immense Immen e plows seeders harrows and reapers were used success fully but the binders got stuck tuck In the mud This difficulty was overcome by widening their tires and adding cogs to them so 0 that they would not sink In the soli sell and would grip the surface In this way immense tracts were cultivated When hen these improved methods are con eon considered eldered it is no wonder that the Industry in the South Atlantic states which re lied principally upon hand labor should suffer Compare a Louisiana Loul tana or Texas rice ri e plantation of ot several thousand nd acre aero cul thus and irrigated Irrl by canals to fifty miles long the wa ter In which is III pumped from hundreds of artesian wells and the latest type of steam threshing machine and a mod modern modem I ern em mill nearby to prepare the grain for market with the antiquated system pre prevailing prevailing prevailing In the Orient There the rice farm tarm covers only a few square rode rods In one district of ot Japan JOO separate fields can be counted in an area of ot twenty five acres The soil soli is i usually spaded by hand although a slight improvement Is noticed In the Philippines where the water buffalo draws a plow When harvest time comes In the Orient men women and children wade Into the rice paddies paddles and cut the grain with sick les Later they hull huU the grain by b pound Ing it In a mortar In the southern states rice lands are fertilized by rotating with other crops crape or by plowing under the rice straw and hulk halls hallsor or by use Ule of artificial fertilizer The seed Mild is sown by y machinery and when the plants are about six Inches high water Is let into the field to a depth of several sev several eral Inches being confined by a dyke or levee about a foot in height The wa water water water ter must be kept covering the roots of the plant for weeks In that warm cli ell climate climate mate the soil soli is le like a great sponge gallons of ot water being absorbed by every acre during a day Before harvesting the water is turned off and the land dries out considerably c After harvest the grain is shocked Chocked for curing great care being taken to prevent fermentation ferm Having been threshed the grain is tak taken taken taken en to the mill where the outer husk is removed by machinery the chaff blown away and the grain polished poH hed Before this last process proc rice is i brown In color and is isso isso isso so consumed by peoples who thus get the full tun benefit of the nitro nitrogenous nitrogenous genous g fatty outside which adds won wonderfully wonderfully to the nutrition and flavor of the grain Fashion In America and Eu Europe Europe Europe rope however demands a pearly peart white grain and It Is made so by friction In a revolving cylindrical apparatus which is covered with sheep or moose skins tan tanned tanned tanned ned to a 8 wonderful degree of softness The palatable brown powder is sold for tor forstock forstock stock feed and fertilizer at of a cent a pound Whole grain is M most popular In the American market and for that reason the whole and broken grains are separated before leaving the mill the latter selling for considerably leee less To meet the de demand demand demand mand for whole grain ten tons tone of the celebrated rice rI were imported from Japan by the department of agri agriculture agriculture agriculture culture in ISM This variety produces SO 80 SOper per cent of whole grain the yield is heavier while growing it withstands the wind better and the stalk is excellent cattle feed The American rice crop Is about equally divided between the and Honduras varieties Rice Rlee Is depended upon by more people than any other single crop constituting as It does the chief food of half bait the worlds population A diet of three fourths rice and beans beaDS or other oUter legumes is ie said to b be ideal for main I taming the human machine The worlds rice crop aggregates about pounds pound annually Last LalIt year the United States produced nearly bushels of rice having a farm fann value of almost upon Iii 11 me acres Besides this America imported worth orth of rice There are saW saki to be acres along the gulf coast alone adapted to rice ric rI culture With econ economy econom economy omy om and efficiency as watchwords the American rice grower crowEr employing the highest priced labor can market his crop at the least Je t cost coat and the greatest prom profit and he hf bids fair soon to control the mar markets markets of the world From rice the Japanese make sake mice ke or orrice orrice rice beer and the Chinese make wine win Rice figures fIu tI In the religious customs and superstitions of many countries In tier Bor Borneo neo this thiB grain is regarded as s a living spirit and feasts are held in honor of the genius which pervades It In Madagascar car there Is a belief that If rice ri is thrown or a 8 flute is played before the gram grain In to Ie harvested a destructive hailstorm hall torm will follow The Inhabitants of the Island of Celebes never entirely empty a bowl of or rite rice unless they are certain the vessel will be refilled at once The Arab places rice on his roof to keep mister misfortune tune away Among some Oriental pee peo peoples plea ples rice Is I thrown over the head heed of a guest at a festival in order to detain his hie poul roul which being too happy might be lured away hy by h demons The throwing of rice at weddings had Its origin In very early times time the idea being to give good goodluck goodluck goodluck luck to the newly married couple and andas andas as u one ancient authority says because their souls are like birds apt to flyaway fly Oy flyaway away and rice has the power of or keeping them themI Copyright 1809 1505 by hy Frederic J I Tomorrow The Government Mail Mall |