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and in drawing off the water, no Grass or Weeds
whatever are found growing in the same field
with it _ which fields when this 21 days water
is drawn off shows nothing, but the beautiful
Young Rice growing upon a perfectly Clean field
and the Planter knowing now full well that
he will not be called on to hoe or pick this
portion of his crop for 6 or 8 weeks _ these are
certainly important results in favor
of open planting

I was Conversing with
one of the largest Planters near Georgetown Mr Chs Alston
who informed me this 22nd June 1852) that all the Planters
in his neighborhood (with scarcely an exception) now
plant their 2d & 3d planting open. The 1st planting
they always cover, because they are to the north,
& it is there too cold to plant their first open.
They have Clay lands too which are known to be
stiff tenacious & of a Cold nature, Compared with
looser soils & Mr C. Alston informs me that the
open planting he & they all highly approve of
all of them resort to it as soon as the mild
weather sets in and I need not remark that
Georgetown & its neighbouring Rivers produce the
best Rice in the World. We all look up to them.
But after all is said , I must Conclude by observing
with regard to Open planting that the Doubt and
uncertainty _ the anxiety whether one
will ultimately have a good strand or not by
which in open planting one is tantalized for
a month or six weeks after putting the seed in the ground
are all much against this mode of planting.
But in its favor again I must say that formerly I thought
I had been doing great things for a series of years past
in planting 10 Acres to the hand partly in Open planting,
but principally by covering. But now several of us in
my neighbourhood on Savannah River know full well
& candidly acknowledge that with this Water Culture
we can plant & bring to maturity 20 Acres to the hand.
But we could not pretend to harvest it with the same small force
But would require this force to be doubled at least
['ere] we could at a reasonable period get this Crop safe in the Barn Yard.

The Old Plan of Planting with Us was to cover all the
seed Rice with earth and to put the Sprout flow on
during from 5 to 8 days (according to the weathers being Warm of Cold)
this flow being merely to swell & burst the seed. These fields
are then Dried for about 10 Days, Until the delicate root
has turned down & taken hold of the soil & the white Sprout
exhibits its sharp point just piercing thro' the surface
of the field, from ¼ to ½ inch in length And the old plan was
at this stage to give the Young Rice the Point Flow for 8 or 10 Days