rice, in botany: A genus of the diogynia order, belonging to the hexandra class of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 4th order, Graminae. The calyx is a bivalved uniflorous glume; the corolla bivalved, nearly equal, and adhering to the seed. There is but one species, namely the sativa or common rice. This plant is greatly cultivated in most of the eastern countries, where it is the chief support of the inhabitants; and great quantities of it are brought into England and other European countries every year, where it is much esteemed for puddings, &c., being too tender to be produced in these northern countries without the assistance of artificial heat; but from some seeds which were formerly sent to Carolina there have been great quantities produced, and it is found to succeed as well there as in the eastern countries.

This plant grows upon moist soils, where the ground can be flooded over with water after it is come up. So that whoever would cultivate it in this country should sow the seeds upon a hot-bed; and when the plants are come up, they should be removed into pots filled with light rich earth, and placed in pans of water, which should be plunged into a hot bed; and, as the water wastes, it must from time to time be renewed again. In July these plants may be set abroad in a warm situation, still preserving the water in the pans, otherwise they will not thrive; and, toward the latter end of August, they will produce their grain, which will ripen tolerably well, provided the autumn proves favourable. The leaves of rice are long, like the reed, and flethy; the flowers blow on the top like barley; but the seed which follows is disposed in clutters, each of which is inclosed in a yellow husk, ending in a spiral thread. The seed is oblong, or rather oval, and white.

Rice is the chief commodity and riches of Damietta in Egypt. Dr Hasselquist gives the following description of the manner in which they dress and separate it from the husks. "It is pounded by hollow iron pestles of a cylindrical form, lifted up by a wheel worked by oxen. A person sitting between the two pestles, pushes forward the rice when the pestles are rising; another sifts, winnows, and lays it under the pestles. In this manner they continue working it until it is entirely free from chaff and husks. When clean, they add a 30th part of salt, and pound them together; by which the rice, formerly grey, becomes white. After this purification, it is passed through a fine sieve to part the salt from the rice; and then it is ready for sale." Damietta sells every year 60,800 sacks of rice, the greatest part of which goes to Turkey, some to Leghorn, Marseilles, and Venice.

Rice, according to Dr Cullen, is preferable to all other kinds of grain, both for largeness of produce, quantity of nourishment, and goodness. This, he says, is plain from macerating the different grains in water; for, as the rice swells to the largest size, so its parts are more intimately divided. Rice is said to affect the eyes; but this is purely prejudice. Thus it is alleged a particular people of Asia, who live on this grain, are blind-eyed; but if the soil be sandy, and not much covered with herbage, and as these people are much employed in the field, this affection of their eyes may be owing to the strong reflection of the rays of light from this sandy soil; and our author is the more inclined to this opinion, because no such effect is observed in Carolina, where rice is very commonly used.

Dr Percival informs us, that as a wholesome nourishment rice is much inferior to satep. He digested several alimentary mixtures prepared of mutton and water, heat up with bread, tea-biscuit, satep, rice flour, sugar powder, potato, old cheese, &c., in a heat equal to that of the human body. In 48 hours they had all acquired a vinous smell, and were in brisk fermentation, except the mixture with rice, which did not emit any air-bubbles, and was but little changed. The third day several of the mixtures were sweet, and continued to ferment; others had lost their intestine motion, and were sour; but the one which contained the rice was become putrid. From this experiment it appears that rice, as an aliment, is slow of fermentation, and a very weak corrector of putrefaction. It is therefore an improper diet for hospital patients, but more particularly for sailors, in long voyages, because it is incapable of preventing, and will not contribute much to check the progress of, that fatal disease the sea-scurvy. Under certain circumstances, rice seems disposed of itself, without mixture, to become putrid. For by long keeping it sometimes acquires an offensive flavor. Nor, according to our author, can it be considered as a very nutritious kind of food, on account of its difficult solubility in the stomach. Experience confirms the truth of Orzyivera's conclusion; for it is observed by the planters in Osborn, the West Indies, that the negroes grow thin, and are less able to work, whilst they subsist upon rice.