New Hampshire Journal Of Agriculture

ARTICLES OF COMMON USE.
Rice. To a vast number of the human race this cereal grain or grass forms the daily food. In French it is called Riz; Italian Riso; Arab Aruz; Hindoo Chawl, and the Botanists call it in scientific terms, Oryza Sativa. In spite of all these great names, rice is a most healthy and nutritious article. It is to the inter-tropical regions what wheat is to us. In its rough, unhusked state it is called paddy. There is great variety in the qualities of rice. Cargo rice, exported from Bengal, is of a reddish cast, large-grained and sweet to the taste. It is parboiled in earthen pots to facilitate the process of husking and to make it keep better. Patna rice is more esteemed in Europe than any other sort from the East; it is small-grained, but remarkably white. But that raised on the low grounds of South Carolina is superior to all other. It is not indigenous to America any more than wheat, oats or barley. The seed was brought from Madagascar; its culture increased so fast that in 1724 1800 tierces were exported. We shall see why rice is likely to be high at present, when we know that its culture in the United States was confined to slave States. There is a variety called Cochin China or Mountain rice, which will grow on upland without irrigation, but it is not so productive as other kinds. More than 96,000 tons were raised in 1850 in the United States. In Hindostan, where it is the chief dependence, famines are of more frequent occurrence than in any other country Ireland not excepted. This is owing to the improvident habits of the people, as well as the nature of the climate.