. Cyclopedia of farm crops, a popular survey of crops and crop-making methods in the United States and Canada;. Farm produce; Agriculture. TaMng water from the Mississippi river over the levee by means of a siphon. The soil of the Gulf coast prairies varies from a sandy loam to a black clay loam and is uniformly underlaid with a clay subsoil more or less tena- cious. The soil is generally rich in plant-food; the surface of the land is mainly smooth and falls slightly toward the Gulf or some drainage stream. The numerous rivers flowing through these prairies to the Gulf furnish an abundant supp
. Cyclopedia of farm crops, a popular survey of crops and crop-making methods in the United States and Canada;. Farm produce; Agriculture. TaMng water from the Mississippi river over the levee by means of a siphon. The soil of the Gulf coast prairies varies from a sandy loam to a black clay loam and is uniformly underlaid with a clay subsoil more or less tena- cious. The soil is generally rich in plant-food; the surface of the land is mainly smooth and falls slightly toward the Gulf or some drainage stream. The numerous rivers flowing through these prairies to the Gulf furnish an abundant supply of fresh water for irrigation. The rice-fields vary in area from ten to one hun- dred acres, depending on the variation in the level of the surface. Many of the best rice-farmers do not allow a variation of more than three inches in the total levels. Planting.—Rice is planted in drills or is broadcasted and har- rowed in at the rate of fifty-five to eighty pounds of seed per acre. On land which has been long in cultivation the larger amount of seed is advisable. Rice should not be planted till after the wheat crop is in, as it germinates at a slightly higher temperature. The seeding period extends from March 15 to June 15, but ordi- narily the seed should be in by the middle of April. Watering.—As soon as the rice is up, watering begins. The depth of the water is increased as rapidly as the growth of the plant will permit, till such a depth is attained that the weeds in the field are destroyed. For watering the rice-fields, surface canals are constructed (with many later- als), running from the river banks across the prairies, and into these the river water is elevated by powerful pumps and distributed to the rice- fields. The elevation of the canals above their water-supply varies from five to sixty feet, with a probable average of twenty or twenty-five feet. Along the Mississippi the water is siphoned over the levee (Pig. 770). In the Carolinas, a different method is f
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
