RHUBARB

or Pie-plant, a strong, perennial plant grown for its thick, succulent, acid leaf-stalks, which serve as an excellent ‘‘fruit’’ for use as sauce and in pies. They average from twelve to eighteen inches in length, but they can be produced in much greater size. It they are dried in the sun, they may he kept a long time, and soaking overnight will render them nearly as good as the fresh product. Where the market demands a considerable quantity of winter or early spring rhubarb it is generally grown under steam-heated, movable-sash sheds built over the field-plants. Smaller supplies can be readily obtained in cold frames set in the field, oy from roots transplanted into hotbeds or greenhouses. The choicest #: reed rhubarb is grown in partial darkne in cellars or greenhouses—the stalls becoming very tender, only mildly acid, and with skin so thin that peeling is unnece ary. Rhubarb leaves have from time to time held some vogue as a vegetable —but they should never be eaten. Their oxalic-acid content is sufficiently high to be dangerous for those with sensitive kidneys or intestines. The rhubarb of the drug-store is a preparation of dried rhubarb rootstocks. It ix sometimes of the species (Rhewmn rhaponticum) which furnishes the edible stalks, but the bulk of the best grades is from Asiatic-grown plants of the similar but larger leaved and much more showy R. of ficin ale. a gee ea eee Ror Y a Sea | aac rhubarb, Yorkshire, England RICE (sce the color-page opposite), the most extensively cultivated of grains and the principal food of more than a third of the entire population of the world. The plant, before fruiting, is in general appearance a good deal like wheat, but its seed head, or panicle, is entirely different—it consists of a number of fine stalks, each one bearing a single grain, instead of the compact ear of the wheat-plant. In the commonly eultivated and most productive types, it must be kept flooded during the growing season, and it is in consequence most easily raised on level lowlands with shallow soil resting on a clay subsoil. It can, though, be grown at almost any elevation if irrigation is feasible. In Japan and the Philippines, satisfactory crops are obtained even on the terraces of hills and mountainsides by periodic flooding from reservoirs above. ‘‘Upland rice,’’ originally cultivated in the South for forage but now also to some extent for human consumption, does not require flooding—it is grown much as is any other grain crop.: Rice cultivation was started in this country in 1694 when a Captain Smith, arriving from Madagascar, presented a bag of ‘‘paddy,’* or rough rice, to a merchant of Charleston, 8S. C. The industry developed steadily, and production in South Carolina and Georgia during the generation preceding the Civil War was close upon or exceeded a million barrels a year. A new impetus was given shortly after the close of the Civil War, when its field was extended to Louisiana by a smail colony of Germans in what is now Acadia Parish, La. From Louisiana, cultivation spread to Texas and Arkansas, and recently to California. These four states, in the order given and with Louisiana heavily leading, produce about 99% of our present crop— which has grown through difficulties, triumphs, and vici itudes, to an annual value of many millions of dollars. The United States is indeed fast developing into one of the world’s = growing countries — improved alt machinery and ty, ge dBbeoniEgT” eek Rogen of soil tending i Or es Pe E bn sae ee a cheaper labor of ‘ we A et i] every reason Ng, why rice should o mt a 2 e; be an every-day - oH nies article of diet in Pot ee American homes. “ee a ee It is very nutri- “ee Pa: of the minute 7? As —. with size of the starch — —: = Giiliams Service grains and the Plowing a rice field in Ching _ delicacy of their cell walls), almost completely a imi- _: lated, and (properly prepared) very ae -: palatable. Uncooked ‘‘white’' rice (the eta 7 gr as chiefly marketed, with the outer ap lavers removed) contains an average of —_ wet GE A ie nearly 88% of nutrients—a little more Sai" than wheat. The components include |Sae, aie sig Vey Mia 8% protein, 79% carbohydrates (chiefly iy. Why starch), and a very small amount of fat. ote CORR die 44s) ayy ““Whole,’’ or ‘brown,’ rice includes 2% ¢ +) i i i ve Nal fat. or a little more than wheat. where it is the principal article 4 = pas ‘ of food, the protein required to complete a & es the diet is supplied by soy-bean cheese, ete., and frequently also by the consumption of fish and other kinds of flesh. In this country, meat and milk are among the most important accompaniments. ie The initial preparation of rice for posh a lease tone Tee es the market involves thrashing (which siesta Janae gives **paddy,’’ or rough riee) and milling, which first removes the husks (yielding *‘whole,’’ or ‘‘brown,’’ rice) and then (if the ordinary ‘‘white’’ rice is desired) also the outside Javers of the grain. White rice is next polished by means of rapidly revolving pigskm-covered evlinders (moose skin or sheepskin was formerly used). ——_ he ser: A growing field of rice ‘‘Coated rice’’ is polished white rice thinly coated with a mixture of corn-sirup and tale to give it a pearly lustre. The coating readily di olves when the rice is washed. There is much confusion in the use of the terms ‘‘unpolished’’ and ‘‘polished.”’ ‘‘Unpolished’’ has been largely used as a trade title for ‘‘uncoated,’’ and ‘polished’ has signified ‘‘coated.’’ This is incorrect, for polishing and coating are separate proce es, as noted in the preceding paragraph. Practically all white rice is polished. If the term ‘‘unpolished’’ is employed at all, it should be applied to whole, or brown, rice. The removal of the outer layers of the rice-seed is a blunder from the standpoint a of food values. It robs it a of part of its nutrients and >a Se all of its, vitamins, and de- NS - prives it of much of These points are comparatively. unimporceed tant if the food supply is otherwise well balanced, ~ but they become matters for serious consideration -_ if the diet is poor and scantily supplied with.: other vitamin Vav ). 2 -. ‘es a Better acquaintance. o we sia with high-grade brown; is i > rice would result in its F —— a | wider appreciation. It rei ‘| quires, however, greater; dicks a4 eS. ee| care in storing and han- “gc » see PAA Stehgeeg) dling, as it is more subject to the depredations of Ee RP Pk eae Ye rte! weevils, and needs twice F 7: a Petr geenees 15 PS. as long, and more eareful | APU ANE ae Cpe eN White rice should be ae «bright and flinty in apce s ate pearance — not muddy. AS ew teF Grocers in our northern states might i well give rice more attention and It is easily carried and can "4, ’ fees} be made to earn a good profit. The trade f. R || in the South needs no.advice on this; 5 point—for grocers there sel] a lot—even stores carry large stocks ae ¥: i:| of various grades, and feature it just as; " s) any other leading article. ae: The housewife who will direct part eee of her attention to the many po ibilities Harvesting rice under palm-leaf cumola( aug ieed) PLL. in cooking rice, will be rewarded by an improvement of her table at a decreased expense. There is practically no limit to the ways in which it can be used—separately or with other articles—with meats, fish, vegetables, and fruits, and in puddings and many other de erts. It is particularly valuable for its aid in preparing dishes from ‘‘left-overs’’— either hot dishes or cold, mixed salads, It is not nece ary to purchase ‘‘extra fancy’’ rice to obtain the food value \ sought. Any good grade will answer - that purpose, and (with proper and suitiia able cooking) will also prove practically 4 \ as good eating—even if not quite so ata fag > AS 1S = 4 tractive to the eye.: There are many cooks and therefore |gaigesesa= ' many ways of boiling rice! The first |2ye A! = e ential in any receipt is to wash it in /9, | |: several waters, or in running water, until the water is clear. After this step, there [= > are numerous, differing directions. A |,: good rule (except when using a double- |f; boiler) is to add the rice to a large quan- |f tity of rapidly boiling, well-salted water |; (four or five quarts to a cup of rice is ff a not too much), adding it slowly so as not {f 7 to check the boiling. Then let it boil - rapidly until soft—which is ascertained |f: —_—: by pre ing two or three grains between ~3 | the finger and thumb. White rice will ————Ee take from twenty to thirty minutes. A rice raft, South Carolina d Next drain off the water and steam until almost dry. The result of the observance: of these simple directions will be rice that is thoroughly cooked, yet which has every grain separate. Over-boiling makes rice pasty, and under-salting causes it to lack flavor. The water drained off the cooked rice is useful for thickening soups, etc. As brown rice, similarly treated, takes considerably longer to cook than white rice, it is best soaked in tepid water for an hour or so before boiling. Puffed Rice 1s made by putting the grain into sealed cylinders, or ‘‘guns,’’ which are revolved for sixty minutes in a heat of 550° Fahr. The heat converts the grain moisture into steam—and when the ‘‘eun’’ is suddenly unsealed, the steam contained in each individual grain ‘‘explodes,’’ pulverizing its starch granules and ‘‘ puffing’’ it to several times its original size.