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work did not begin over extensive areas until October 1. Threshing commenced at once. Many fields of late rice were slow in maturing owing to late seeding, scarcity of water or for other reasons. Some of this would not ripen at all while other fields would come in during November. The bulk of the harvest came in October and the first part of November.

In rice fields grown on the low lying alkali lands there were many places that did not drain properly former^[[ing]] [[strikethrough]] ly [[/strikethrough]] open lakes and ponds in the rice fields. Around and in these were abundant growths of weeds known to the rice growers as "Water grass." The most common of these were the Barnyard grass [[underlined]] (Echinochloa crus-galli) [[/underlined]] and Feather grass [[underlined]] (Leptochloe fascicularis). [[/underlined]]  Joint grass [[/underlined]] (Paspalum distichum) [[/underlined]] was less abundant. In land used for rice for the first season these grasses were not abundant, but unless carefully cut out greatly increased the following year.

Land used for the third year was often so foul with these weeds that at times they predominated over the growth of rice. The seeds of these grasses began to mature by the first of September.

Damage to Rice by Ducks.

Large Tracts of rice planted on the "alkali" or goose lands adjoined sloughs and swamps that are more or less permanent and that harbor many ducks. Many ducks are reared in extensive marshes bordering the Sacramento River and during late summer many more come in here after breeding elsewhere to rest and feed. The bulk of the latter are Pintails. In September from 15,000 to 20,000 pintails were to be found on a broad area of water known as the "Trough" six miles east of Maxwell, and a similar flock of perhaps 10,000 birds rested on the Butte Creek

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