A plant of the grass family, of a single species, culti- vated in all warm climates, where its grain is used for food and its straw for various purposes.
Varieties.—The two principal varieties of lowland rice cultivated in the Atlantic states are the gold-seed and the white rice. The principal variety hitherto planted in Louis- iana is the Honduras. The Japan rice, now in process of introduction, has a short and thick kernel and a thin hull;
the percentage of bran and polish is small; the straw is still green when the grain is ripe; the yield is very large.
White rice is chiefly grown on lands that are low, level, and easily irrigated. There are varieties which may be grown on fertile upland without irrigation.
50 THE FARMER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA.
Soil.— The best sojl for rice is a medium loam contain- ing about 50 per cent of clay. The alluvial lands along the southern rivers where they can be drained, are well adapted o rice cultivation. The rich drift soils of Louisiana and Texas prairies have shown marvelous adaptation to rice.
The best soils are underlaid by an impervious subsoil, otherwise the land cannot be satisfactorily drained at the time of harvest in order to permit the use of improved harvesting machinery. Gravelly or sandy lands are not ~ adapted to rice cultivation.
Irrigation— The fields range in size from 60 to 80 acres on the prairies of southwestern Louisiana down to one or two acres along the banks of the Mississippi River. The entire surface of each field should be nearly level so that irrigation water will stand about the same depth. The tract of land selected and inclosed is cut up by small canals into the fields or sub-fields, of suitable size.
Plowing.—In the South Atlantic States the land is often plowed or dug over with a hoe early in the winter. In southern Louisiana the land is so low and wet and the soil so stiff as to necessitate plowing in the water. Deep plowing is advocated by the best authorities, particularly if the soil is wel] drained. If it brings too much alkali to the surface the remedy is to plow a little deeper than the previous plowing just after harvest.
For dry culture the land is prepared very much as for a crop of oats.
Drainage.— Perfect drainage is one of the most impor- tant conditions in rice culture. Either tiling must be em- ployed or the water must be controlled by open ditches, the main ones at least 3 inches in depth.
Sowing.— The seed should be free from weeds and uni- formity of the kernel should be looked after. It may be sown between the middle of March and the middle of May, but in most cases should be sown about April 20 for best results, as soon as advisable after spring plowing. Where there are several fields they should be planted at different periods so that the harvest will not be crowded. One to 3 bushels is the amount per acre. Drilling is preferable to broadcasting, which is the common method.
Flooding.— Flooding is not practiced unless necessary to start the seed, until the rice is 6 to 8 inches high. The water should stand 3 to 6 inches deep and be renewed by continuous inflow and outflow. If the stand is thin the water should be deeper, and always should be of uniform depth al] over the field.
RICE. 51 Fertilizing.— Rice is not hard on the soil, especially if the straw and chaff are returned regularly to it. However, there is very little information on the subject of fertilizers ag affecting rice.
Weeds and Grasses.— To every tiller of rice lands the rapid increase of injurious grassea3 becomes a serious dliti- culty, as the conditions favorable to the growth of rice are also favorable to the growth of grasses. The follow- ing methods are the most generally applied: Hand weed- ing is very beneficial but too slow and expensive to be gen- erally employed. Hoeing and burning the grasses after the rice is harvested destroys them but leaves the land bare to be parched by the hot sun. Winter flooding has been at- tempted so as to destroy the grass by drowning it out dur- ing the winter, but has not been very successful. Early planting and mowing is sometimes resorted to, both rice and grass being mowed when they have a good start, but this materially reduces the yield of the rice. Fall plowing and harrowing or a thorough disking immediately after harvest if the weather is warm enough, is quite effective against in- jurious grasses and red rice. Red rice is a wild variety having red grains and causes the rice growers some annoy- ance and loss, as a few grains lower the grade and reduce the price; it increases rapidly. Seed must be carefully watched to see that it is free from red rice and if acciden- tally planted it must be prevented from maturing.
Harvesting.— Reaping machines are generally used in the prairie districts of Louisiana and Texas, but in the other rice producing sections such machines can only be used to @ limited extent if at all, as the ground is not dry and firm in the harvest time. Where reaping machines cannot be used the sickle takes their place, the rice being eut from 6 to 12 inches from the ground and the grain laid upon the stubble to keep it off the wet soil and allow the air to circulate about it. After a day’s curing the grain is removed from the field; it is then shocked on dry ground, the bundles braced carefully against each other and the shock carefully capped with the heads of the capping bundles falling on the north side to avoid the sun, preventing some eracked and chalky kernels. The steam thresher is fast taking the place of flailing or treading out, though its use frequently involves considerable loss through breakage and waste of grain.
Yield—In South Carolina and Georgia the average yield is from 8 to 12 barrels per acre; in southwestern Louisiana it averages a little more.
52 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA.
Milling.— The rice as it comes from the thresher is known as paddy from the rough rice being the grain proper with its enclosing husk. By a complicated process these husks are separated from the grain and polished when it is ready for market.
RYE:
Common cereal or its seeds, somewhat resembling wheat ; grown in the United States for its grain, used for flour and malting, and for forage purposes. Rye-straw is used in paper making. it is hardier in its habits than wheat, both as to soil and cold. It makes excellent green manure, and is often utilized as such after having been pastured. Where stock are allowed to run in cornfields after husking, a great amount of feed is saved by sowing the field to rye at the last cultivation. In the south it affords three to four forage crops for fall and winter cutting.
Soil.— To secure a large yield of grain and heavy forage a light, fertile, well-drained loam is best. When grown for grain a dryish sandy soil not too rich produces the best results.
Seeding.— For preparation of the ground see wheat, as the two are similar. If the soil be poor, rye is put in a lit- tle earlier than whent, usually about the same time. Drill- ing is usually preferable to broadcasting, about 3 to 4 pecks per acre, 1 to 24% inches deeep being usually sown.
Heavier seeding (11% to 3 bushels on heavy soils or lat seeding or 3 bushels for forage) is common. <
Harvesting.— Rye is an early ripener, winter sorts com- ' ing to maturity before wheat. Because of the heaviness of the bundle and the slipperiness of the straw it is usually threshed from the shock. The crop is cut when the kernels are in the dough, the straw having started to turn.
Uses.— Besides the uses already spoken of, is sometimes fed to stock. For hog-feed it about equals barley, though it must be fed cautiously; for mileh cows it is avoided as giving the milk a bitter flavor. The straw is practically valueless for stock on account of its coarseness.
Enemies.— Rye is subject to about the same enemies as wheat, which see.