Section 46. RICE.
Reading edition
Rice forms the[1] chief subsistance of the people[2] in India, China, Japan, and other eastern[3] countries. Indeed, it supports[4] more persons than any other article of food[5]. In Asia it (S. 2, N. 1) is chiefly cultivated in India, China, and[6] Ceylon; in Europe: in Lombardy[7] (Italy) and Spain; in Africa: in Egypt; in South America: in Brazil; and in North America: in[8] the Carolines and[9] Louisiana. Its[10] cultivation requires an[11] immense quantity of moisture. It[12] grows best in[13] fields which can be inundated. Indeed[14], the fact that it is usually sown upon watery soil makes it probable that the first Verse of the eleventh Chapter in[15] Ecclesiastes refers to Rice. In Egypt, for example, it is always sown while[16] the waters of the Nile cover the land, and when the floods subside[17], (S. 27, N. 8) it is deposited[18] in the mud. A strong spirit[19], called arrack, is distilled from[20] rice, and[21] the straw is used for making plait for hats and bonnets.—Nelson’s Readers.