CHAPTER II.

CULTIVATION.

The following observations on the methods of cultivating tobacco have

reference more particularly to the processes as conducted in Cuba,

India, and the United States; this branch of agriculture has been

brought to great perfection in the last-named country, and the

supervision of the operations in India is mostly entrusted to skilled

Americans.

_Climate._—Of the many conditions affecting the quality of tobacco, the

most important is climate. The other conditions that must be fulfilled

in order to succeed in the cultivation of this crop may be modified, or

even sometimes created, to suit the purpose; but cultivators can do

little with reference to climate: the utmost they can do is to change

the cultivating season, and this only in places where tobacco can be

grown nearly throughout the year. The aromatic principles, on the

presence of which the value of a tobacco chiefly depends, can only be

properly developed in the plant by the agency of high temperature and

moisture. The fame that Cuban and Manilla tobaccos enjoy is mostly due

to the climate. The article produced in Cuba is most highly esteemed; up

to this time, no other country has been able to compete successfully

with it. However it cannot be doubted that there are many places whose

climate justifies the assumption that a tobacco could be grown there,

not inferior to that produced in the West Indies. The more closely the

climate of a place corresponds with that of Cuba, the greater chance is

there that a Havana a variety will preserve its peculiar aroma. In such

places, a fine and valuable tobacco may be grown with less expenditure

on labour, &c., than it is necessary to bestow in raising an inferior

article in less suitable climes. In countries where a low temperature

rules, the plants must be raised in hot-beds, and there is also a great

risk that the young plants may be destroyed by frost, or afterwards by

hailstones. When damp weather prevails during the tobacco harvest, it is

often injured; and to give the required flavour, &c., to make the

article marketable, macerating has often to be resorted to, thus

involving great risk and expenditure. But in spite of these drawbacks,

tobacco cultivation is often very remuneratively carried out in

countries possessing an unfavourable climate. The deficient climatic

conditions are here partly compensated for by making the other

conditions affecting the quality of tobacco, and which can be controlled

by the cultivator, the most favourable possible.

_Soil._—The soil affects to a great extent the quality of a tobacco. The

plant thrives best in a soil rich in vegetable mould; this, however, is

not so much required to supply the necessary plant food, as to keep the

soil in a good physical condition. No other plant requires the soil in

such a friable state. A light soil, sand or sandy loam, containing an

average amount of organic matter, and well drained, is considered best

adapted for raising smoking-tobacco; such a soil produces the finest

leaves. The more organic matter a soil contains, the heavier is the

outturn; but the leaves grow thicker, and the aroma becomes less. As, in

tropical climates, the physical properties of the soil play a prominent

part in its productive capabilities generally, and the presence of

organic matter in the soil tends to improve these properties, it will

rarely occur that in such places a soil will contain too much humus. The

more clay in a soil, the less is it adapted to the production of fine

smoking-tobacco, on account of its physical properties being less

favourable to the development of the aromatic principles; the leaf

becomes also generally thick and coarse, but the outturn on such soils

is commonly heavier than on a more sandy one. A clay soil possessing a

great amount of humus may, if properly tilled, produce an ordinary

smoking-tobacco, and may even, if great attention be paid to the

selection of the variety, &c., produce leaves for cigar-wrappers.

Of less importance than the physical properties of the soil is its

chemical composition. By proper tillage and heavy manuring, tobacco is

sometimes grown on comparatively poor soils. From analysis of the plant,

it is clear that it contains a large amount of ash constituents, which

it extracts from the soil; the most important of these are potash and

lime. A soil destitute of these constituents would require a great

quantity of manure to supply the wants of tobacco.

An experienced Ohio planter, Judson Popenoe, speaking of soil, says “A

rich, sandy, second bottom, I believe to be the best for raising

tobacco, although our chocolate-coloured uplands, when very rich and

highly manured, will grow an excellent quality of tobacco, but will not

yield as much to the acre. Black river-bottoms will yield more to the

acre than any other kind of land, but the tobacco is not of so fine a

quality; it grows larger, has coarser stems, and heavier body, and

consequently, in my opinion, is not so good for wrappers or fine cut as

the second bottom or upland tobacco.”

On the same subject, an Illinois grower observes, “for us in the West,

and for all the localities that have not an over-amount of heat,

experience has proved, that a dry, warm soil (loam or sandy loam), rich,

deep, and containing lime, is most suitable for tobacco. The more sandy,

to a certain degree, the soil is, the better will be the quality of the

tobacco; the nearer the soil is to clay, the poorer will be the crop

under similar circumstances, although the yield may yet be satisfactory.

Clayey soil will hardly produce tobacco suitable for cigars. Wet and

tough clay soils are under no circumstances suitable to tobacco.”

_Situation._—Land intended for tobacco-culture should have good

drainage, and be sheltered from high winds. In Holland, where

tobacco-cultivation is carried out to great perfection, each field is

surrounded by a hedge about 7 ft. high; the fields are divided into

small plots, which are again bordered by rows of plants that are able to

break the force of the wind, which would injure the leaves, and render

them of comparatively little value. To this circumstance must chiefly be

attributed the fact that Dutch growers succeed in getting as much as 50

per cent. of leaves of the first quality, whereas in most other

countries 25 per cent. is considered to be a very good outturn.

In the United States, several rows of pole beans, i. e. scarlet runners,

a few steps apart, are sometimes planted as a wind-screen.

_Manure._—In its natural state, the soil will rarely possess the

elements of plant food in such a form as is most conducive to the

production of a fine tobacco-leaf. Any deficiency must be supplied in

the shape of suitable manure. Schlösing found that a bad burning tobacco

was produced on a soil containing little potash, on unmanured soil, on

soil manured with flesh, humus, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride,

and potassium chloride. A good burning tobacco was produced on a soil

manured with potassium carbonate, saltpetre, and potassium sulphate.

More recent experiments carried out by other investigators tend to

corroborate these conclusions. It is generally assumed that a soil rich

in nitrogenous organic matter produces a strong tobacco that burns

badly.

The results of Nessler’s experiments clearly show that it is not

sufficient to apply the element most needed by the plant—potash—in any

form, but that, to produce a good tobacco, it is necessary to apply it

in a particular combination. It was found that potash carbonate applied

as manure produced the best tobacco: it burned for the longest time, and

its ash contained most potash carbonate; whereas potash chloride

produced a much inferior tobacco. The assertion of other experimenters

that chlorides produce a bad tobacco is thus confirmed. Potash sulphate

and lime sulphate produced a good tobacco. It may be noticed here that

tobacco which was manured with gypsum contained a great amount of potash

carbonate in the ash, probably due to the fact that gypsum is a solvent

for the inert potash salts. From the foregoing, it may be concluded that

in tobacco cultivation, the elements potassium and calcium should be

restored to the soil in the form of carbonate, sulphate, or nitrate, but

not as chlorides. Poudrette, or prepared night-soil, generally contains

a considerable amount of chlorides, and is not well suited as manure for

fine tobacco. It has been found that fields manured with chlorides

produced heavily; a small proportion of chlorides may therefore be

applied in this form, whenever quality is of less importance than

quantity. Farmyard manure may suffice when tobacco is cultivated in

proper rotation, but here also, unless the soil be very rich in

potassium and calcium, the application of some special manure will

greatly enhance the value of the outturn. Wood-ashes are a valuable

supplement to stable dung. Gypsum is an excellent dressing for soils in

a good manurial condition: it supplies the lime needed by the tobacco,

and acts as a solvent on the inert potash salts. Gypsum applied on poor

land, however, hastens the exhaustion of the soil. It is said that crops

manured with gypsum suffer less from the effects of drought, and require

less irrigation, than when manured otherwise: the leaves of plants that

had been manured with gypsum exhaling less water than when manured with

other substances. If this assertion be correct, gypsum would be

invaluable to the Indian cultivator.

With regard to the amount of manure to be employed, it may be observed

that, with farmyard manure properly rotted, there is no theoretical

limit, especially when the tobacco is intended for snuff, and is grown

in a hot climate, where the physical properties of the soil are of the

utmost importance. It is said that some Rhenish-Bavarian soils contain

as much as 15 per cent. of organic matter, yet the cultivator considers

it necessary to heavily manure each tobacco crop. Dutch growers apply to

the rich alluvial soil as much as 25 tons an acre of well-rotted

cattle-manure. In America, it is reported that the heaviest crops are

obtained on soil newly taken up, and very rich in vegetable mould. It is

considered nearly everywhere that tobacco will pay best when heavily

manured. The first care of even the poorest peasant in the tobacco

districts of Germany, Holland, &c., as soon as he sells his tobacco, is

to purchase the manure which he considers essential to his success.

The amount of any special manure which can be applied without injury to

the plants depends very much on the solubility of the stuff, and the

manner of applying it. Highly soluble salts, such as soda or potash

nitrate, should be applied in smaller quantities than salts which

dissolve slowly. With regard to the manner of applying concentrated

manures, it is evident that, when a salt is applied in close proximity

to the plant, less will be required than when strewn over the whole

field. When applied in solution, not more than 300 lb. of nitrate per

acre should be used at one time. The amount to be applied varies also

with the soil; a sandy soil, which has little absorptive power, should

receive less than a clay. Salts easily disintegrating should not be

applied before tobacco has been planted, especially not before heavy

rains which would carry off the salt. To supply the potash required by

the tobacco plant, 200 lb. of good saltpetre per acre would be

sufficient in most cases. Lime, although removed from the soil in large

quantities, is rarely applied to tobacco as a special manure. Where

wood-ashes can be had at a moderate price, lime may be applied in this

form. Some ashes are very rich in lime. It has been found that ashes

obtained from beech-wood contain 52 per cent. of lime, and those from

oak-wood as much as 75.

Whilst most growers are agreed that tobacco is a crop demanding a rich

soil, there is a want of uniformity of opinion as to the best method of

manuring. On this point, C. Schneider, a successful Illinois planter,

says “manuring cannot be done too early, or too heavily. The manures are

very different, and equally useful for the different kinds of tobacco.

We may classify them as follows:—

“To be applied shortly before planting, and in equal quantities, for all

kinds of tobacco: 1. Guano, 200 to 300 pounds on the acre; 2.

Poultry-droppings, 400 to 500 pounds; 3. Green manure in any quantity;

4. Sheep-dung, 6 two-horse loads; 5. Cattle manure, 10 two-horse loads.

“For chewing-tobacco and snuff: 1. Sheep-dung, 10 to 12 loads per acre;

2. Cattle manure, 20 to 30 loads; 3. Horse-dung, 15 to 25 loads; 4. Hog

manure, 20 to 30 loads. The last two are useless for smoking-tobacco, or

for that to be used for cigars.

“The first three manures (guano, poultry-droppings, and green manure)

must be followed after the tobacco-crop, by a plentiful supply of

stable-manure. The tobacco-stalks themselves, rotted or burned to ashes,

sown over the field before the transplanting, or in the

planting-furrows, will act as a good manure, but are not sufficient. In

highly-worked farms, that is, where the soil is valuable, and cannot

remain idle, it will pay every way, to sow rye for fodder on the

tobacco-land in the fall; this may be made into hay, or turned under as

manure at the beginning of July, just as may seem most profitable. Deep

ploughing for the rye, and afterward for the tobacco, must not be

forgotten.”

R. E. Burton, in the _Sugar Cane_, translating from Mitjen’s essay on

tobacco growing in the most renowned district of Cuba, has the following

sensible remarks on the all-important subject of manuring:—

“Each veguero or farmer should make a hole or rotting-bin in which he

should deposit as much muck and leaves as he may be able to accumulate,

and, before giving the last ploughing to prepare his field for planting

the tobacco, he should spread over it all the prepared rotten manure he

can procure. Manure that is not thoroughly rotten injures the plants

more than benefits them. A piece of land, well manured and thoroughly

worked up, will produce four times more tobacco than one badly prepared

would. Consequently no expense or labour is so remunerative as that

which is applied to the soil. This is a very important point which

should fix the attention of every agriculturist who desires to prosper.

“Agriculturists acknowledge the advantage of manuring. In tobacco

cultivation it produces the most brilliant results, but in Vuelta-Abajo

it is very difficult to procure sufficient country manure. Yagues (i.e.

strips of palm bark used as screens, and for baling) and all the refuse

from palm trees are excellent; grass from the savannahs and all kinds of

vegetables in a thoroughly putrid state are very good, but it requires a

great quantity, and the immense labour to collect and prepare these,

frightens the greater number of vegueros, and few have sufficient

constancy to enable them to collect enough properly prepared manure for

their fields.

“The most which some manage to do is to spread refuse over some portions

of land, where it rots and fertilizes the soil; but this system is

inefficacious, because the vegetable substances being very light, the

heavy rains wash away the greater portion of the decomposed matter, and

fully nine-tenths are lost. If the system was adopted of depositing this

manure in holes or trenches, from which it can be removed when

thoroughly rotted and fit for the fields, it would produce much more

with much less labour; for although at first sight the labour appears to

be doubled, by having to carry it twice, it must be remembered that one

load of well-prepared manure is better than ten or twenty of grass or

bush that is not rotten.

“But in every way there is great difficulty in collecting vegetable

manure in sufficient quantities; recently, guano has been tried with the

most brilliant success.

“Peruvian guano is the most compact fertilizer known, and a very small

quantity suffices to manure a tobacco field; its cost is not excessive,

and is very frequently less than the carriage of other manures to the

spot where they are to be used. Its most active results are shown on

light and sandy soil; it quickens vegetation, and experience has shown

that it increases prodigiously the quantity and value of crops; we

therefore recommend the use of guano as a fertilizer of the first order

for tobacco cultivation, and as light and sandy soils possess in

themselves the substances most suitable for the development of the

tobacco plant, on such soils guano acts as a stimulant to the plant.

“Before using Peruvian guano, it should be sifted; all the stones and

lumps remaining should be broken up, and again sifted, so that nothing

may be lost. After this, three or four times its weight of dry sandy

soil should be thoroughly mixed with it, and it should remain thus 6–8

days before being used. This preparation should be made under cover, to

avoid the possibility of rain falling on the mixture, and the heap

should be covered with the empty guano bags, or anything else, to

prevent the evaporation of the volatile alkali which it contains.

“It is better to prepare this mixture in detail, each heap containing

one bag of guano, whose weight is 150–160 lb., so as to facilitate the

calculation of the quantity that should be applied, and prevent

mistakes. We will start, therefore, on this calculation.

“On lands of good quality, but which, nevertheless, require manure, from

having been overworked, one pound of guano should be applied to each

15–20 superficial yards, or, say one heap of compost for each 2500–3000

yards, or, otherwise said, one heap of manure will suffice for a surface

that contains 5000–6000 plants.

“In sandy unproductive soil, and on sterile savannah lands, 1 lb. of

guano to 9–12 yards; or a heap of compost guano to 1500–2000 yards; or

one heap for 3000–4000 plants.

“These are the proportions to be used for the first year; for the

second, and forward, two-thirds of that employed the first year will be

sufficient.

“When crops of tobacco and corn are grown on the same lands, half the

guano should be applied to the corn and the other half to the tobacco;

but then a somewhat larger quantity will be required. The manure should

be applied shortly before transplanting, and after the ground has been

well cross-ploughed and prepared, and the ground should be plotted out

into squares or beds of 50 yards square. The manure should then be

spread and ploughed in, and the land should at once be furrowed and

planted.

“Under this system of applying Peruvian guano as manure for tobacco the

best results have been obtained, and, of all the various trials made,

this is the most simple and the easiest to execute.”

The remarks of the last-quoted essayist are good so long as guano is to

be had. But there is a limit to the supply, and in many places it would

be unprocurable.

The necessity for more definite knowledge concerning the actual wants of

the tobacco plant in the matter of food, led to an investigation of the

subject some years ago by Prof. S. W. Johnson on behalf of the

Connecticut State Board of Agriculture, and more recently by Schiffmayer

for the Agricultural Department of the Madras Presidency.

Prof. Johnson aptly observes it to be “a well-established fact that

plants may receive from the soil and retain a larger portion of

ash-ingredients than is needful for nutrition. This is especially marked

in case of the lime, potash, and soda salts. The excess of these

substances thus taken up may either be deposited in the solid state in

the cells of the plant, or may remain dissolved in the juices. In

tobacco, a part of the nitrogen usually exists as a nitrate, in

combination with potash. That is to say, portions of the nitrogenous

food of the plant—the nitrates of the soil—are not completely worked

over into albuminoids, and into nicotine, the nitrogenous constituents

of tobacco, but accumulate and remain in considerable quantity in the

sap. When a dry tobacco-leaf is set on fire, it often burns like ‘touch

paper’ (paper soaked in a solution of saltpetre and dried) with bright

sparkles of fire, indicating the points where the nitre has gathered in

minute crystals as the juice of the leaf evaporated. The quantity of

superfluous salts in the plant depends upon its succulence, and upon the

supply of them in the soil. Doubtless certain definite amounts of

potash, lime, magnesia, iron, sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid are

absolutely necessary to produce a given weight of tobacco. In case

several or all these substances are superabundant in the soil, the plant

has no power to exclude any unnecessary surplus of one or all of them

from its interior altogether, although there are good reasons known to

prevent their entrance beyond a certain limit. In one soil potash may be

relatively most abundant, and may for that reason be found in the crop

in greater quantity than was necessary for the growth of that crop. In

another soil lime may be in surplus, and there the crop may have the

minimum of potash, and a considerable excess of lime.

“The crop is a result of the working together of a number of causes or

conditions; these are the heat and light of the sun, carbonic acid and

oxygen of the atmosphere, water, nitrates and ammonia, and the

ash-elements enumerated in our table of analyses. The crop is limited in

quantity by that condition of growth, which is presented to it most

sparingly. The richest and best prepared soil without solar warmth, or

without due supplies of rain, cannot give a crop, and if weather be most

favourable, then in one field it may be too little potash, in another

too little phosphoric acid, in another too little nitrogen, which lowers

the yield, or reduces the quality of the product.

“It is usual in tobacco culture to manure very heavily, and in many

cases it is probable that all the various forms of plant food are

present in available abundance. But soils differ in the nature of the

supplies which they are able to yield to crops, and fertilizers even,

when the same in name, may be very unlike in fact. The chief reliance of

the tobacco farmer is stable manure. This, however, is by no means

uniform in origin, appearance, evident quality, or chemical composition.

The manure from bullocks, wintered on hay and roots, is very different

from that of horses maintained chiefly on oats or corn. The yard manure

that contains much strawy litter or much wasted hay, differs again from

that of the city stables, from which the straw is carefully raked out to

be used over and over again for bedding. The farm-made manure is likely

to be much richer in potash and lime, and the city manure is richer in

phosphates and nitrogen. Yet in the reports of the farmer, these two

essentially different fertilizers are designated as stable manure

simply.

“Every one understands that a fertilizer acts upon the plant to supply

it with food, and to favour its growth; everybody is also convinced that

some fertilizers act upon the soil, improving its texture and

composition and increasing its fertility. It is an equally well

ascertained fact that the soil acts upon fertilizers to modify their

effect. A very wet or very dry soil is known to nullify the benefit

which might be expected of a fertilizer in a simply moist soil; but more

than this, more than by the accident of external circumstances, it is a

fact that each kind of soil has a special action of its own on

fertilizers, so that if it were asserted of two soils, which, unmanured,

were of equal fertility, that a given fertilizer applied to both,

greatly improved the crop on one, and had little effect on the other,

such a statement might not only be accepted as a fact, but an

explanation might be given in general terms for such a fact.

“Now experiments have shown that different soils when mixed with like

quantities of various fertilizing elements and then treated with water,

in imitation of rain, manifest very different behaviour toward the

admixed substances. One soil will lay hold of the potash in a

fertilizer, and fix it in a kind of chemical combination so firmly that

water can dissolve it but with extreme slowness; another soil puts its

grasp on the lime of a fertilizer, and at the same time allows potash

which belongs to itself to be dissolved out freely. There is, in fact,

always a complicated series of changes set in operation whenever any

fertilizer is incorporated with the soil, be it animal, vegetable, or

mineral; be it alkali, acid, or saline; be it made on the farm or

imported from abroad; be it natural or artificial. The fertilizer acts

on the soil, and the soil reacts on the fertilizer; but the point we

wish to make prominent is this, that different soils are differently

affected by one and the same application, or in other words, a given

manure fertilizes a given crop unequally in degree, and unlike in kind,

on different soils, by virtue of the different assimilating or fixing

power, which the soil exerts upon its ingredients.

“We know of the existence of these peculiarities of soils, and something

of their causes and of the laws by which they act; but the real

necessities of the tobacco crop, or of any other crop, as respects

soil-ingredients, cannot be arrived at by chemical analysis of a single

sample, nor of a dozen samples.” Thus analyses of a dozen New England

tobaccos showed the following highest and lowest percentages of each

ash-ingredient, and of nitrogen:—

Silica 0·05 to 0·30│Magnesia 0·94 ” 2·21

Chlorine 0·08 ” 2·55│Potash 3·90 ” 7·45

Sulphuric acid 0·52 ” 1·69│Soda 0·08 ” 1·81

Phosphoric acid 0·47 ” 0·80│Nitrogen 3·20 ” 5·11

Lime 3·17 ” 8·22│

“It appears that the percentages of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash

are nearly twice as great in some samples as in others; that the

proportions of magnesia and lime are about 2½ times greater in some

samples than in others, and that sulphuric acid is 3 times more in one

case than in another. The variation of silica is still greater, and the

disparity rises to its extreme in case of soda and chlorine, whose

maxima are respectively 20 and 30 times greater than their minima.”

The three ingredients chlorine, silica, and soda cannot be considered in

the light of essentials to tobacco culture; but the other substances are

absolutely indispensable to plant growth, and the absence of any one of

these would render a soil incapable of sustaining agricultural

vegetation of any kind. “The variation in the percentage of these

ingredients depends somewhat upon the fact that the leaves of different

crops are unequally developed, and therefore their nutritive needs are

unlike; but it is, no doubt, chiefly connected with the fact that the

plant takes up from a highly fertilized soil more of each or every

element than is essential for growth. The nearly certain conclusion is

that every one of the crops analysed contains more of some elements than

belongs to its nutrition. It is quite certain that the average of the

analyses of the New England tobaccos is fully up to the mark as regards

the necessities of the crop. It is, indeed, not improbable that the

lowest percentages of each ingredient are quantities sufficient for a

perfect crop. Still, it is not proved that lime may not partially take

the place of potash, or the reverse. The probability of such a

substitution is great upon the face of most of the analyses. As a rule,

those which show most potash show least lime and _vice versâ_; but in

one sample both ingredients are considerably below the average. The

practical issue of these considerations is to give great probability to

the view that the tobacco crop is fed unnecessarily (and wastefully?)

high.” (Prof. Johnson.)

Tobacco is usually characterized as a very exhausting crop. This is not

true as regards the amount of nutriment taken from the soil, for in this

respect tobacco is less exacting than hay, potatoes, or rye. It demands

chiefly potash and lime, with phosphoric acid and nitrogen. Prof.

Johnson recommends for the manuring of one acre, besides ploughing in

the stalks of the plants, 500 lb. rock guano or 800 lb. fish guano, 500

lb. kainit (potash salts), and 50 lb. quicklime. But surely it cannot be

advisable to mix quicklime with an ammoniacal manure like guano; it

seems to the writer that gypsum, or spent calcium oxide from gasworks,

would be a far preferable medium for conveying lime to the soil.

As observed by Johnson, the “demand made on the soil or on fertilizers

by the tobacco crop, is for certain reasons greater than that made by

other crops which receive more of nearly every kind of plant food. Hay

is more exhausting than tobacco as measured by total export from the

soil, but grass grows the whole year throughout, save when the ground is

frozen or covered with snow, or for more than 8 months. The period of

active growth which is required to mature a hay crop, begins indeed in

April, and is finished by July, a period of 3 months, but during the

year previous, for at least 5 months, in case of the first crop, the

grass plants have been getting a hold upon the soil, filling it with

their roots, and storing up food in their root-stocks or bulbs, for the

more rapid aftergrowth. Tobacco on the other hand cannot be set out in

the field before about the 10th of June, and should be in the shed in

about 3 months. Its growth then must be a very rapid one, and the

supplies of food in the soil must be very abundant so that the

quick-extending roots may be met at every point with their necessary

pabulum. A crop of 1260 lb. dry leaves requires about 1100 lb. of dry

stalks to support the leaves, making a total of 2360 lb. of dry

vegetable matter. As new hay contains not less than one-sixth of

moisture, we increase the above dry weight of the tobacco crop by

one-sixth, to make a fair comparison, and obtain as the yield of an

average tobacco field 2750 lb. of air-dry vegetable matter, or more than

1⅓ tons. The matter stands then thus: An acre of first-rate grass land

yields as the result of 8 months’ growth, 2¾ tons of crop, while the

tobacco land must yield 1⅓ tons in 3 months.

“If the above data are correct, the _average_ rate of growth of tobacco

is greater than that of a corresponding hay crop, in the ratio of 9:7.

The real disparity is, however, much greater. The principal growth of

tobacco is accomplished in the hottest summer weather, and in a period

of some 40–50 days. Very heavy manurings are therefore essential to

provide for its nourishment, and the more so because the best tobacco

lands are light in texture, and may suffer great loss by drainage,

evaporation, and decomposition.”

From these premises, Prof. Johnson advances to the question of what

should or should not be presented to the plant in the form of manure. He

commences with a caution that, in general, growers must “avoid employing

fertilizers which contain salt or other chlorine compound in raising

wrapping or smoking tobacco. It is evident, also, that there is no

occasion to use any fertilizer for the special object of supplying

phosphoric acid, since the heaviest export of this substance does not

exceed 10 lb. per acre, annually. It may be well to mention here that

phosphates which may be put upon a tobacco field, in guano, &c., cannot

suffer waste by washing out, and will come to use when grain or grass

shall follow in the rotation.”

He observes of gypsum (lime sulphate) that it is “a valuable application

to tobacco, not because it is very largely taken up by the crop, for the

greatest export of sulphuric acid, viz. 20 lb. per acre, is restored by

50 lb. of plaster, and the greatest export of lime, 120 lb., is made

good by 400 lb. of the sulphate, but because lime sulphate dissolves in

400 times its weight of water, and may rapidly wash out of the porous

tobacco lands, and especially because the solution of lime sulphate in

the soil is a very effective agent in rendering soluble and accessible

to crops the potash and magnesia, which too often exist in close-locked

combinations. The average annual rainfall (snow included) in our

latitudes, is no less than 10,000,000 lb. per acre. This enormous

quantity of water would be enough to dissolve and wash out of the soil

25,000 lb. of gypsum per acre if it had time to saturate itself, and

then flowed off. In fact, but a small proportion of the rainfall runs

through and out of the soil, not more than 10 to 20 per cent., according

to its porosity and situation; but it is plain that there is nothing to

hinder the waste of a hundred pounds or more of gypsum per acre yearly,

Since all investigations go to show that the soil has no retaining power

for lime sulphate as it has for potash and for phosphoric acid. In

Nessler’s experiments, gypsum had an excellent effect on the burning

quality of the tobacco raised under its application, an effect

attributable, he believes, to the fact that this fertilizer often

liberates potash in the soil, as Liebig and Deherain have demonstrated,

and is therefore equivalent to an application of potash, provided the

latter actually exists in the soil.

“Potash is exported in the tobacco crop to the amount of 70–80 lb. per

acre yearly, and is required for the stalks to the extent of some 50

lb., making a total of 120–130 lb. As already intimated, potash does not

commonly waste from the soil by washing. It is seldom found in

appreciable quantity in well or drain water, and most soils absorb it

and fix it so firmly that water can remove it but very slowly. It does,

however, appear in the drain water from very heavily dunged fields,

though in small proportion. Stable or yard manure on the average

contains one-half per cent. of potash, or 10 lb. per ton. Twelve or

thirteen tons of stable manure would therefore contain the potash

needful to produce a crop. The dressing of 20 tons of 10 cords of stable

manure, per acre, which is often employed on tobacco, is doubtless

enough to fully supply the crop, and the application of additional

potash is apparently quite unnecessary. The employment of potash salts

upon tobacco lands would therefore seem to be uncalled for unless the

amount of stable manure is greatly diminished, or its quality is very

inferior. In case potash salts are to be applied, the best form to make

use of is potash sulphate, of which 250 lb. contains 135 of potash. Next

to this is probably potash carbonate, i. e. the ordinary potash of

commerce, which contains some 70 per cent. of potash; 200 lb. of this

would be sufficient for an acre. To apply it I would suggest breaking it

up into small pieces and soaking it in two or three times its weight of

water until the lumps crush easily, and mixing these with so much ground

gypsum as will make a mass dry enough to handle.

“Kainit, which contains some 15 to 20 per cent. of potash, but also 10

per cent. or more of chlorine, is not so good for leaf tobacco, and

least of all to be recommended is potassium chloride (muriate of potash)

which is nearly half chlorine.

“Magnesia is an element which is abundantly provided for in stable

manure, every ton of which, according to analyses on record, contains

some 3 lb. of this substance.

“Lime is supplied in relative abundance in stable manure, the average

ton of which contains some 15 lb. We have seen that 600 lb. of gypsum

contain as much lime as the average tobacco crop: guano, dry fish, and

superphosphate, each contains some 5–10 per cent. of lime. There is,

furthermore, little likelihood that any soil intended for tobacco would

not of itself contain enough lime to support the crop. Lime in the

caustic state has, however, a value independent of its direct nutritive

power, which is well worth the attention of the tobacco raiser. Of this

I shall write briefly in a subsequent paragraph.

“Nitrogen in absolutely dry New England tobacco leaf ranges from 3·2 to

5·1 per cent., or 4·24 as the average. This is a larger proportion than

exists in any of our ordinary field crops, except the seeds of legumes.

The grain of wheat and red clover hay contain when dry scarcely 2½ per

cent., and they exceed all other usually raised vegetable products,

except the leguminous seeds. The pea and bean contain, when dry, 4·5 to

4·7 per cent. of nitrogen. The acreage export of nitrogen is

nevertheless not large according to the data of our tables. It should be

remembered, however, that the average is derived from 5 samples only....

There are reasons to suppose that this result is too low. Furthermore it

is not improbable that tobacco loses nitrogen during the curing

process.”

The advantages of artificial manuring have been made manifest in all

branches of agriculture, and there is no doubt that the nitrogenous

qualities of farmyard dung may be replaced by soda nitrate, ammonia

sulphate, &c., only it must be remembered that these have not nearly the

lasting effect of dung, the latter liberating its ammonia but slowly.

Indeed “when a soil has been heavily dunged for a term of years, it

accumulates a large quantity of nitrogen, which is comparatively inert

and therefore nearly useless to crops. Quicklime assists to convert this

nitrogen into the active forms of ammonia or nitrates,” hence Prof.

Johnson’s suggestion that an “application of lime may sometimes be

advantageously substituted for one of stable manure. In fact, it is not

improbable that moderate doses of lime might be turned under with stable

manure or green crops, with the effect of exalting the action of these

fertilizers, and obtaining from them a larger return of nitrogenous

plant food. Lime, however, gives effect to the nitrogen of the soil by

causing the destruction of the organic matters—_humus_—in which this

nitrogen lies in an inactive state. These organic matters have

themselves a value independent of their nitrogen, which must be taken

account of, and therefore the use of lime must be undertaken cautiously,

and with an intelligent comprehension of the various effects which it

may produce.”

_Rotation._—A proper rotation of crops is particularly advantageous for

the cultivation of tobacco, since it requires a great amount of readily

accessible inorganic matter in the soil, especially potash and lime.

Although the importance of cultivating tobacco in rotation is admitted,

there may be circumstances that justify the growth of this crop

consecutively for several years in the same field. In America, tobacco

is grown successively for several years on new land, where the elements

of plant food exist in such abundance that the crop may be thus

cultivated without for a time showing any notable decrease in yield; it

is even said that the outturn of the second year is heavier than that of

the first. In Hungary and Holland, the best tobacco is grown for many

years in succession on the same land. There the plan is adopted partly

out of necessity and partly for convenience. The small landholder is

often obliged to grow tobacco on the same field, because he has only one

properly fitted for it; for convenience, he grows it every year on the

same place near his homestead, to allow of the closest attention to the

crop, but he manures heavily. Nessler, in Carlsruhe, cultivated tobacco

during six consecutive years in the same field, without noticing any

perceptible decrease in yield or quality. To admit of such a system, the

soil must either be very rich in the essential elements, or be heavily

manured, as is the practice in Holland. It is generally assumed that,

when tobacco is grown on the same field in succession, the leaves do not

become so large after the first year, but grow thicker and more gummy,

and contain less water.

From the foregoing, it would appear that, although tobacco may be grown

successfully on the same land uninterruptedly under special

circumstances, the cultivator will find it advantageous to adopt some

plan of rotation. Cereals and pulses are very well adapted for this

purpose, the reason being that tobacco removes but little phosphoric

acid from the soil, and thus leaves it rich in the element most

necessary for the growth of cereals. It has also been found that hemp

thrives particularly well after tobacco.

Judson Popenoe suggests that there “should be a good coat of clover to

plough under; if the ground is naturally rich, this alone will make a

good crop, but hog and stable manure, well rotted, is what the tobacco,

as well as any other crop, delights in, and the more manure the better

the tobacco. The plan that I am now experimenting on is, as soon as I

cut my tobacco in the fall I give the ground a good harrowing, and then

drill in wheat; the ground being well cultivated all the fall, is clear

of weeds and mellow and needs no ploughing. In the spring I sow clover,

after the wheat is off; I keep the stock off until about September, to

give the clover a chance to harden and spread. I then let the stock eat

as low as they want to, which drives the clover to root, and causes the

crown to spread; I do not suffer stock to run on the clover during

winter or spring; about the last of May or first of June I plough the

clover under, which is now in blossom, and so I alternately keep two

fields in tobacco and wheat, at the same time feeding the ground a crop

of clover every two years; in this way I expect my land to increase in

fertility all the time. The clover turned under makes food for the

cut-worms, and they trouble the tobacco-plants but little.”

_Selection of Sort._—The cultivator must carefully compare the

requirements of the different sorts, and the means at his disposal to

satisfy them, before making his selection. Though tobacco is a hardy

plant, and grows under varied conditions, yet to become a remunerative

crop, the plant should not be placed under circumstances very dissimilar

from those to which it has been accustomed. By importing seed of a fine

sort directly from its native land, the plants will not retain in the

new habitat all their special qualities, unless climate, soil and

treatment are nearly the same. Climate must first be considered. Fine

and valuable tobacco is a product of tropical countries: in a warm and

humid climate, by employing common means, tobacco may be made to yield a

profit not attainable in less favoured regions. A warm, moist climate

permits the selection of those sorts that command the highest prices; if

to this be added a suitable soil, and proper treatment, the cultivation

of tobacco yields a profit not easily obtainable from any other crop.

As the Havanna tobaccos command the highest prices, the cultivator

nearly everywhere attempts to introduce and cultivate them. There is no

great difficulty in raising plants of these varieties, but they speedily

degenerate and form new varieties, if the climatic conditions, &c., are

not favourable. Virginian tobacco was previously extensively cultivated,

but has of late been frequently replaced by the Maryland kind. It is

still much favoured by cultivators in temperate climates, as it does not

require a high temperature. On account of its botanical characteristics,

it is usually not much liked by manufacturers of cigars; some varieties,

however, that have less of the marked specific characters, yield

tolerably fine leaves for cigars. As the price of this tobacco is rather

low, it is not so well suited for export. Hungarian tobacco is

considered to be very hardy, but is less valuable than the foregoing.

The leaves are generally small, and possess a peculiar aroma.

A high price is generally commanded, irrespective of the species, by

those tobaccos that possess a large, smooth, thin, elastic leaf,

possessing a fine golden colour and a good aroma; the ribs and veins

should be thin, and the former should branch off from the midrib at

nearly right angles, and should be far apart from each other. The lower

the percentage of the weight in ribs, the thinner and broader the leaf,

and the fewer the leaves torn, the more wrappers can be cut out of 1 lb.

of tobacco, other conditions being equal, and consequently the higher is

the price of the article. The cigar-manufacturer often does not

appreciate the aroma so much as the other qualities. He can do nothing

to improve the botanical characters: the finest aromatic leaf would be

of little value to him if it were torn; but he is to a certain extent

able artificially to improve defects in flavour. Of all kinds, Maryland

is considered to possess the qualities that distinguish a good tobacco

in the highest degree. Some of the Havanna tobaccos belong to this sort,

as also the Ohio, Amersfort, Turkish, and Dutten tobaccos. Its

cultivation assumes larger proportions every year, and the number of

varieties and sub-varieties increases accordingly. Perhaps the finest

wrappers for cigars are grown in Manilla.

On this subject, Judson Popenoe remarks that he has “cultivated various

kinds of tobacco, but have come to the conclusion that what we call the

Ohio seed-leaf is the best and most profitable kind for general

cultivation. There are other kinds of tobacco that sometimes are

profitable, and do well, but most of these do not cure out so well, nor

colour so evenly, nor are they so fine and saleable as the seed-leaf.

The Havanna tobacco is too small and has not the fine flavour of the

imported. The Connecticut seed-leaf I believe to be identical with our

Ohio seed-leaf; the difference in the climate may make a slight

variation in the quality, but we plant the Connecticut seed-leaf here in

Ohio, and I do not think they can be told apart.”

Schneider recommends the following varieties: “1. Connecticut seed-leaf,

principally for cigar-wrappers; 2. Cuba, for fillers and wrappers; 3.

Maryland; 4. Virginia, the last two principally for smoking and chewing

tobacco. For snuff everything may be used, the refuse and even the

stems. The Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia yield the largest crops,

the Cuba the smallest but best. The first varieties yield about one

thousand pounds, the latter five hundred pounds. In very favourable

seasons double the amount may be raised. All tobacco-seed, which is

removed from its native clime and soil, will deteriorate, and the seed

must be renewed from its native place, although the seed may, when it

finds favourable soil, &c., yield just as good, if not a better

variety.”

In Virginia, remarks Thomas, there are “as many varieties of

tobacco-seed as of corn or wheat. I will name a few: The Big Frederic,

the Little Frederic, the Blue Stalk, the Brittle Stem, the Big Orinoco,

the Little Orinoco, and half-a-dozen others, each having, or supposed to

have, some characteristic distinguishing it from all the others. But the

Brittle Stem and the Orinocos were the varieties mostly cultivated, the

former for its early maturity, the latter for its comparative heaviness.

There are several varieties, also, in this vicinity, such as the Brittle

Stem, the Graham Tobacco, and the Cuban, but the names convey little

certain information, as the same varieties bear different names in

different localities. But some varieties are evidently to be preferred

to others—one noted for early maturity, all things else equal, is

preferable to another that ripens late. One distinguished for fineness

of texture, all things else equal, is better than another of coarser

fibre, &c. Upon the whole, the surest and most profitable variety is

that which ripens earliest, and yields the largest number of pounds,

cured, to a given number of hills planted.”

In the opinion of Perry Hull, a grower in Litchfield county,

Connecticut, “the variety best adapted to our purpose is that known in

this State as the Bull Tongue. The leaf is neither too long nor too

short; the length and width being in such good proportion that

manufacturers considered there is less waste than there is to a very

long narrow leaf, or a very broad short leaf. It yields well, and ripens

at least one week earlier than-many of the broader varieties. Almost any

of the seed-leaf varieties will do well; but never patronize any of the

humbugs sent from the Patent Office, under the name of Graham tobacco,

Maryland broad leaf, &c. They are a Southern tobacco, and when grown

upon that soil, make chewing-tobacco; but here it is good for nothing

for that purpose, and is too coarse for cigar-wrappers.”

According to Dennis, an Indiana planter, “selection of seed depends upon

the kind of land you have and the quality of tobacco you wish to raise.

Rich, fertile bottom-lands will grow only heavy, strong tobacco, and it

is the interest of the farmer to select that kind of seed that will

produce the plant of the greatest weight; in other words, to make weight

the prominent object in the result of the crop. Thinner, poorer land

will produce tobacco of lighter weight, but of finer and more desirable

quality, and one that will bring a correspondingly higher price. The

Orinoco tobacco is raised extensively in Missouri and Kentucky for heavy

tobacco, and is known in market as Kentucky Leaf. The seed for the finer

qualities passes (as does the other also) under different names, but may

be procured in Pike and Calloway counties, Missouri, and in Virginia;

the Orinoco, and kindred kinds, in Howard and Chariton counties in

Missouri. I should suggest that the seed may be procured through the

agents of express-companies at Glasgow, Brunswick, and Renick for the

Orinoco, and at Louisiana or Fulton for the other qualities. I would

recommend the culture of the coarser, heavier kinds, for the reason that

the finer quality needs much more care and experience in the handling,

in order that it may go into market in a condition to command such a

price as its quality, when well handled, entitles it to.”

In the words of Libhart, a Pennsylvanian farmer, the “best variety for

cultivation in a high northern latitude is the Connecticut seed-leaf, as

it ripens two weeks earlier than most any other variety, cures and

colours better, and commands the highest price in the market. The

Pennsylvania seed-leaf outstrips the Connecticut in size and weight, but

owing to its requiring a longer time to mature in, is not so well

adapted to climates north of 41° or 42°.”

An experienced Missouri grower, named Pursley, remarks that there “are

more than twenty distinct varieties, of which I will only mention the

most valuable:—The Yellow Prior, Blue Prior, Orinoco, Little Frederic,

Big Frederic, Cuba, and Spanish tobacco. These are considered the most

valuable in this State. The Yellow Prior and Orinoco are the most

profitable.

“I prefer the Yellow Prior, as it is the easiest cultivated and is the

most fine and smooth of the many varieties. Some growers prefer the

Orinoco, on account of it being the heaviest. I do not for various

reasons: it has large stiff fibres and ruffled stalks, which afford

hiding-places for insects; it moulds easier, is harder to cure, and

generally does not bring as good a price as the Yellow Prior.”

_Seed._—The best and strongest plants are selected for affording seed.

These are not “topped” like the remainder of the crop, and are left

standing when the crop is gathered. All suckers are carefully removed

from the stems, and sometimes from the leaves also. When the crop is

cut, the seed-stalks should be staked, to prevent their destruction by

the wind. As soon as the seed-pods blacken, the seed is ripe; the heads

are then cut off below the forks of the plant, and are hung in a dry and

safe place to cure. Care must be taken to gather them before frost has

impaired their vitality. During leisure time, the pods are stripped from

the stalks, and the seed is rubbed out by hand, and winnowed. Its

vitality is proved by its crackling when thrown upon a hot stove.

_Seed-beds._—A very light friable soil is necessary for the seed-beds;

to obtain this, it should be broken up to a depth of 1½ ft. some months

before the sowing season. A drain is dug around the beds, and the soil

is utilized in raising the surface. In America, a very warm and

sheltered situation, such as the south end of a barn, is selected for

the seed-beds. It is a common plan there to burn a brush-heap over the

ground, thus supplying potash and killing weeds. The time for sowing in

America is usually from the middle of March to the 10th of April, or as

soon as the ground admits of working in the spring; in India, it depends

upon the locality: when the monsoon rains are very heavy, it should

follow them; in other cases, it may precede them.

Unless the soil be very rich in humus, it should be heavily manured with

well-preserved farmyard manure soon after breaking up. The soil of a

tobacco nursery cannot contain too much organic matter; the presence of

much humus will prevent, to a great extent, the formation of a surface

crust, which is so detrimental to the development of the plants during

their early growth, and will also facilitate the extraction of the

plants when transplanting takes place. After a few weeks have elapsed,

the soil should be dug over a second time, and the whole be reduced to a

fine tilth. The land may now remain untouched until the sowing-time,

unless weeds should spring up: these must be eradicated.

The area required for a nursery depends on the area of ground to be

planted, and on the distance separating the plants in the field. About 1

sq. in. space should be allotted to each of the young plants in the

nursery. Taking the number to be 7260 plants required for an acre (at 3

ft. × 2 ft.), and giving each plant 1 sq. in. of room, an area of 7000

sq. in. or 50 sq. ft. would raise plants sufficient for an acre. But as

some are injured during growth, many rendered useless in lifting them

for transplanting, and more needed to replace those that die after

transplanting, double the number should be raised, or 100 sq. ft. of

nursery bed for an acre.

The amount of seed required for an acre depends chiefly on its vitality.

An ounce contains about 100,000 seeds, or sufficient for nearly 7 acres

if all grew; but as even the best has not a very high percentage of

vitality, ½-1 oz. is generally sown to produce the plants required for

one acre.

Sowing-time having arrived, the nursery is divided into beds, most

conveniently, 10 ft. long and 5 ft. wide, making 50 sq. ft. each, on

which plants for ½ acre can easily be raised. As, even with a small

tobacco plantation, several days are required for transplanting, all the

beds should not be sown at one time, but at intervals of a few days.

This will also lessen the risk of the young plants being all destroyed

by a storm, insects, &c. Before sowing the seed, the soil is dug over to

the depth of 6 inches, and levelled with a rake. The seed must then be

sown evenly on the surface, and beaten down slightly with the hand or

otherwise. The seed being very small, many cultivators mix it with

ashes, or pulverized gypsum, in order to distribute it regularly over

the bed. The seed must be covered only slightly, best done by strewing a

little fine compost manure over it. Ants, which often destroy the seeds,

may be kept off by sprinkling some ashes over the bed. Finally cut straw

may be scattered over the surface. In India, to protect the nursery from

the sun and rain, the whole is covered with a roof made of straw,

leaves, or cloth, supported by poles, at only a few feet above the

ground. The soil must be kept constantly moist, but not wet; weak liquid

manure may be used for watering. Much time is saved by starting the seed

in a warm room before sowing.

The plants, which will appear about a week after sowing, are very tender

during the first stage of their growth, and require frequent watering

through a fine rose. The straw will now prevent the water falling with

any force immediately on the plants, and its tendency to wash the soil

from the fine rootlets. If the plants spring up thickly, they are

thinned out, when about a week or two old, leaving about 1 sq. in. for

each. Those taken out may be used to fill blanks in the nursery bed, or,

if more plants are taken out than are required for this purpose, they

should be planted in a separate bed. It is universally acknowledged that

plants transplanted when very young develop more roots, grow more

vigorously, and become more hardy afterwards, than when not transplanted

at this stage. When the plants are about two weeks old, they require

less attention, and should be watered less frequently, to harden them

before transplanting. Any weeds appearing must be removed, and injurious

insects must be killed. In about 7–8 weeks after sowing, the plants will

be fit for transplanting.

Bowie, a Maryland planter, gives his experience in the following

words:—“After a thorough burning of brush, dig deep, and continue to

dig, rake, and chop until every clod, root, and stone be removed; then

level and pulverize nicely with a rake. As to the variety to plant, I

think the Cuba is a very good kind for our climate. The Connecticut

seed-leaf is the best, but culture has more than anything else to do

with the quality. Mix 1 gill of seed for every 10 square yards with a

quart of plaster or sifted ashes, and sow it regularly in the same

manner that gardeners sow small seeds, only with a heavier hand; roll

with a hand-roller or tramp it with the feet. If the bed is sown early,

it ought to be covered with brush free from leaves; but it is not

necessary to cover it after the middle of March. Tobacco-beds may be

sown at any time during the winter if the ground be not too wet or

frozen. The best time for sowing is from the 10th to the 20th of March,

though it is safest to sow at intervals, whenever the land is in fine

order for working. Never sow unless the land is in good order, for the

work will be thrown away if the land be too moist or be not perfectly

prepared. The beds must be kept free from grass or weeds, which must be

picked out one at a time by the fingers. It is a tedious and troublesome

operation, therefore you should be very careful not to use any manures

on your beds which have grass or weed-seeds in them. After the plants

are up, they should receive a slight top-dressing of manure once a week,

sown broadcast by the hand. This manure should be composed of ½ bushel

of unleached ashes (or 1 bushel of burnt turf), 1 bushel of fresh virgin

woods-earth, 1 gallon of plaster, ½ gallon of soot, 1 quart of salt

dissolved in 2 gallons of liquid from barnyard, and 4 lb. of pulverized

sulphur, the whole well intermixed. Let a large quantity be got together

early in the spring, or winter rather, and put away in barrels for use

when wanted. This, and other such mixtures, have been found efficacious

in arresting the ravages of the fly—both from the frequent dusting of

the plants and the increased vigour which it imparts to them, thereby

enabling the plant the sooner to get out of the tender state in which

the fly is most destructive to it. The fly is a small black insect,

somewhat like the flea, and delights in cold, dry, harsh weather, but

disappears with the mild showers and hot suns of opening summer. If

possible, the plants should stand in the bed from ½ inch to 1 inch

apart, and if they are too thick they must be raked when they have

generally become as large as 5 or 10-cent pieces. The rake proper for

the purpose should be a small common rake, with iron teeth 3 inches

long, curved at the points, teeth flat, and ⅜ inch wide, and set ½ inch

apart.”

Schneider, whose success as an Illinois planter has already been

mentioned, expresses himself thus:—“Raising tobacco-plants from seed is

somewhat similar to raising cabbage-plants, but is different in two

important things: It takes considerably more time for the seed to sprout

(six weeks), and, on account of disturbing the roots, cannot well stand

weeding. Therefore the principal care in providing the seed-bed is, to

prepare for the early starting of the seed, and to have the bed free

from all weed-seeds. In the West we prepare the seed-bed in the

following manner: we take a plot of land—newly cleared land is

preferred—sloping southward, and protected against winds. The bed should

be 4 feet broad and 8 feet long; on this we pile brush, wood, and heavy

logs, sufficient to keep up a strong fire for at least one hour, and

burn it. When the coals begin to die out, or before the soil is cold,

the bed is cleared off, and only the fine ashes are left; then it is

hoed thoroughly and as deep as the strongest heat has penetrated, after

which it is raked cross and lengthwise, until the soil is entirely

pulverized. Everything that might hinder the growing of the plants, and

their taking out afterwards, is carefully removed. On this bed a

thimbleful of seed, well mixed with a few handfuls of ashes or earth, is

sown broadcast, and tramped in with the feet, or slapped with the under

side of the spade or any other suitable instrument. After this, the bed

is thoroughly wetted with a weak manure-water, 12 lb. of hen-droppings,

or 1 lb. of soot in 10 gallons of water, and lightly covered with straw.

The seed-bed does not need much attention at first, if the weather

remains mild; but if there is danger of night-frosts, a layer of brush

must be made, and on this a layer of straw 2 to 4 inches thick,

according to the degree of frost. The straw is removed in the morning,

and put on again at evening, leaving it off entirely when the nights are

mild. Although the seed-bed is ready now, it must not be left to itself,

and requires some care. The plants must always have sufficient moisture,

and if timely rains do not fall, they must be watered with weak liquid

manure as often as needed. Should weeds appear, notwithstanding all

precautions, they must be removed with the utmost care. The

above-mentioned quantity of seed is sufficient to raise plants for one

acre.

“Whoever is in possession of a hot-bed can raise the plants much easier;

he can sow later and have plants earlier and with more certainty. But

even the common bed may be made into a kind of hot-bed. The burned and

hoed surface soil is removed and put on one side, then one foot of fresh

horse-dung is laid on the subsoil, and the surface soil put back again.

Boards may be placed around, cross-pieces laid over them, and the straw

covering put on these.

“The earlier the young plants are ready for transplanting the surer the

tobacco crop will be. March is the latest to make the seed-bed in the

open air, and June the latest for transplanting. Some time may be gained

by keeping the seed in damp earth in the room, and sow it in the

seed-bed just before it commences to sprout.”

Having selected a suitable location, says White, a Connecticut grower,

“next consider how large a bed you will need. That depends on the

surface you intend to plant out. A bed 2 rods long, by 12 feet wide,

will produce a sufficient number of good plants to set an acre. On such

a bed you should spread a heavy coat of good, fine, well-rotted manure,

at least 2 inches thick; let it be free from straw or other litter.

Then, with a good strong back, and long-handled spade (or other as you

prefer), spade up the bed, mixing in the manure very fine. Have ready

some fine dry brush, or the like, and spread over the whole surface; set

it on fire and burn to ashes. A small quantity will answer better than a

very large one, for if very much is burned, it is apt to do injury by

burning the soil. The less quantity will tend to destroy any foreign

seed turned up, and warm the ground. Having reduced the brush to ashes,

take a fine iron or steel rake, and proceed to pulverize very finely the

whole surface spaded up. After reducing it to as fine a state as

possible, and having made it flat and level, leave it till the next day.

Then, with your rake, carefully rake over the whole bed; it is now ready

for the seed. Sow the seed on broadcast; be careful to sow it even and

true. About two thimblefuls, or a little less, will be sufficient for

such a bed. It is better to have too little than too much, as in the

first instance, the plants will have room to form thick stalky roots and

well-spread leaves, while in the latter they will be crowded with

spindling tops as well as small roots. Having sowed your seed, take a

good heavy garden-roller and roll the surface down hard and smooth. In

the absence of a roll, a very good substitute can be made by taking a

piece of 2-inch plank, say 18 inches long by 14 inches wide; in the

centre, place an upright handle. With this spat the bed over, being

careful to do it evenly, and to leave the surface solid and level, the

reasons for which you will afterward discover in weeding and taking out

plants to set in the field. This should be done in the spring, as soon

as the ground will permit, say first of April, if the frost is out and

the ground settled. The roll or spatter will cover the seed sufficiently

without any other covering. To be able to sow the seed with the least

trouble, mix it in thoroughly with wood-ashes or plaster, before sowing.

To obtain plants earlier, you can mix your seed thoroughly in about a

quart of light chip dirt from under your wood-shed; put it in some

proper vessel, and wet to the consistence of soft putty, with water as

warm as can be well borne by the hand. Set it on the mantle-shelf in the

kitchen, not too near the stove or fire, but where it will keep warm. In

the course of a week or ten days, the seed will have cracked the shell,

and will show the small white germ or sprout. It should now be sowed

broadcast very evenly, and treat as before described. If properly wet at

first, it will need no more water to sprout the seed. Before sowing,

pulverize the mass containing the seed, to facilitate the sowing. Having

thus sown and rolled down your bed very nicely, it is well to have

something to protect it from the encroachment of the fowls. For this

purpose, spread a net of twine or a few brush over the surface, covering

it so that they may not disturb the surface by scratching and wallowing.

It may now be left till the weeds begin to make their appearance; these

you will need to extract by the roots as soon as the plants can be

distinguished; these last may be known by two very small nearly round

leaves opening over flat on the ground. Now procure a plank or some

substitute a little longer than your bed is wide, also two blocks 5 or 6

inches square, as long or longer than your plank is wide; place one on

one side of the bed, the other on the opposite side; on these two blocks

place your plank, and you will have a fine platform on which you can sit

and weed any part, or all, of your bed, by moving it as occasion may

require. To assist in pulling out the weeds, procure a moderately

sharp-pointed knife, and with the same grasped in the hand with the

thumb near the point, pinch out the weeds, being careful not to disturb

the dirt any more than absolutely necessary. The process of weeding must

be repeated as often as necessary, to keep the bed clean from weeds.”

[Illustration: FIG. 4.]

Obviously, no frost must be allowed to reach the seedbed when once

sowing has taken place. To prevent this, and for another purpose to be

described presently, Perry Hull advises the construction of a straw mat,

as shown in Fig. 4, which is very light to handle, easily made, and

sufficiently strong to last one season. It is made “by laying a

scantling (6 feet long, 1½ inches wide, ¾ inch thick) upon the barn

floor; place a layer of good straight rye-straw upon it, so that the

scantling will come about in the middle of the straw, then another layer

with the tips the other way, that it may be of uniform thickness in all

its parts (about 1½ inches thick). Place a similar scantling exactly

over it, and with sixpenny nails, nail them tight; with an axe trim both

edges straight, and to a width of 3 feet, and the mat is made. With

these the beds should be covered every night, cold or warm; in the

daytime they should be set up at the north side of the bed, at an angle

of about 65 degrees, by driving crotches just inside of the bed, for the

end of the scantling to rest in, the lower edge of the mat resting on

the ground, outside the bed.

“The plants, as soon as they are out of the ground, which will be in a

few days, require strict attention. The beds should be made high enough,

so that in fair weather a little water can be applied every night. After

the fourth leaf appears, manure-water should be used. Place an old

barrel near the beds, and throw into it ½ bushel of hen-manure, and fill

with water; after it is well soaked, use ½ pailful of it, and fill up

with clear water with the chill taken off. As the plants get larger, the

strength of the infusion can be increased, being careful that it is not

so strong as to turn the plants yellow. As soon as the plants are large

enough to be readily taken hold of by the thumb and point of a knife,

they should be thinned to about 144 per square foot, and kept free from

weeds. This plan is decidedly preferable to raising under glass. It is

less expensive, the plants are more hardy to set out in the field, are

got fully as early, and a little carelessness on a hot day will not ruin

the whole. It has been my method for the past 8 years, and during that

time I have never failed to have good strong plants ready for the field

between the 5th and 10th of June.”

Mitjen, whose essay on tobacco-growing in Cuba has been already

mentioned, recommends a system of shade frames borne on small tramway

trucks, as illustrated in Fig. 5—(_a_) seed beds, raised above the

surrounding level; (_b_) light pointed covers of thatch on a wooden

frame, and provided with grooved wheels; (_c_) rails on which the frames

run, facilitating their application or removal as the vicissitudes of

the weather may demand.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.]

_Preparation of the Field._—Land intended to be planted with tobacco

should receive several ploughings not less than 9 inches deep. As a

rule, clay requires to be more deeply ploughed than sandy or loamy soil.

It greatly conduces to success, if the land is allowed to lie fallow for

several months before planting the crop, to admit of the proper

preparation of the soil, by ploughing, rolling, harrowing, &c., and to

allow the attainment of as fine a tilth as is usual in gardens. No crop

will better repay the expense of proper preparation of the soil than

tobacco; the fineness of the leaf and the aroma of the tobacco depend to

a great degree upon this. The land should be ridged immediately before

planting. The distance apart at which to make the ridges is governed by

the quality of the soil and the sort of plant to be raised. With good

soil, the ridges must be farther apart than in a poor one, because of

producing larger leaves. The ridges should allow a passage between the

rows, for the purpose of weeding, hoeing, suckering, &c., without

breaking the leaves. In the lines, the plants may be 6 in.–1 ft. closer

than the ridges. In some places, a plough is run at right angles across

the ridges before planting, at the distance at which the plants have to

stand in the lines, thus forming small hills on which the seedlings are

planted.

_Planting._—Planting should take place only in the evening (or even at

night in India), unless the weather be cloudy, when it may be performed

during the whole day. Some hours before commencing to transplant, the

nursery should be thoroughly watered, to facilitate the removal of the

plants, without tearing their roots. If the plants are of even size, so

that all can be removed, the best plan is to take them out with a spade,

or trowel, leaving a lump of soil on each. But in most cases, it will be

necessary to take up each plant separately; this should be done very

carefully, holding with the thumb and forefinger as near as possible to

the roots, and drawing out the plants, if possible, with a little soil

adhering to their roots., The plants are taken at once in a basket to

the field for planting. An attendant going between two ridges places a

plant on each hill, right and left. One attendant is sufficient for two

planters, who follow immediately. The planting is nearly the same as

with cabbages, but requires more care, the plants being more tender, and

their roots and leaves springing nearly from the same point, they are

more difficult to handle. The plants should be placed in a hollow made

on each hill, which will serve as a reservoir for the water to be

applied, and also afford some shade.

In India, the plants are watered immediately after planting; they should

also by some means be shaded during the first few days, which can easily

be done when only a small area is planted, but is rather difficult to

manage on a large scale. In the latter case, the shade afforded by

planting in a slight cavity must suffice. If the plants have been taken

from the nursery with some soil adhering to their roots, and are kept

sufficiently moist during the first few days, few of them will die. When

the weather is dry, water should be applied at morning and evening, and

after that time, once daily until the plants have taken root, after

which, occasional waterings, varying with soil, weather, and kind of

plant, must be given. In dry weather, and with a soil poor in humus, one

watering every second or third day may be necessary, whereas with a soil

rich in organic matter, and in a moist atmosphere, watering may be

entirely dispensed with. During the first few days, the water is applied

with a watering-pot, held very low, otherwise the soil would be washed

from the plant-roots, and expose them to the direct rays of the sun,

causing death. The arrangement of the plants in what is known as

quincunx order, as shown in Fig. 6, is generally adopted.

[Illustration: FIG. 6.]

This part of the operations connected with tobacco-growing is described

at some length by Mitjen so far as the practice rules in Cuba. His

translator remarks that “as soon as the land has been prepared, it

should be furrowed at a distance of 1 yard between each two furrows.

This operation should be simultaneous with the planting, and should be

done, if possible, after 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and on cloudy days,

so as to prevent the recently set plants from being scorched by the sun.

The furrows should run more or less from north to south, as, by making

them in this direction, the plants are less injured by the sun, or the

strong winds which generally blow about the planting season.

Immediately, and behind the man who is furrowing, another should follow,

placing the plants at every ½ foot all along the furrow, and behind them

another should at once set the plants, the first walking in the

distance, or bank, and the other in the furrow. The one should open the

land with his right hand, behind which, with his left, the other will

place the plant, being careful neither to double the stalk nor the

roots, and, letting the ground fall directly on the roots, should press

it lightly on them with his hand. The plants should be buried half-way

up the stalk, or, if the plant is small, it should be covered to where

the leaves spread. Care should be taken that the plants have no _dry_

mould sticking to their roots, and that no ground from the furrow falls

in the _centre or sprout_, and when the planting is going on, the ground

should not be too wet. The plants should be set on the side of the

furrow, and on that side which is next the setting sun, so that the

rising sun may strike upon them, and they may be somewhat protected from

the rays of the afternoon sun.

“Generally the plants wither after being transplanted, but on the third

or fourth day after they are set they begin to shoot up, and on the

fifth day or the sixth, those that have not taken root can be

distinguished. Then, and without loss of time, others should be

supplied, this operation being repeated at the end of another 5 or 6

days, so that the whole field may be well filled with living plants.

This is one of the most important operations for securing a good crop,

because the fields will require as much cultivation and labour bestowed

on them if they have vacant spots as if they were full and regularly

planted, and, of course, the yield will be less, besides many other

evils well known to practical _vegueros_.

“According to the best opinions admitted among _vegueros_, one man can

take care of 12,000 tobacco plants, and prudence dictates that no more

land should be planted than that which can be well attended to, as

experience shows that in exceeding this number for each man, instead of

proving advantageous to the planter, it is frequently the cause of

considerable loss. Excessive planting produces, at once, an increase of

labour, and if, unfortunately, a hard year should occur, occasioned by

caterpillars or other causes, it almost always happens that the man who

has only planted 12,000 plants, for each labourer he can command,

produces four times as much tobacco, and of a better quality, than he

who may have planted from 25,000 to 30,000 plants per labourer.

“When the plantations are out of proportion to the strength of the

labour which can be counted on, all the work becomes slowly and badly

done, and these faults most sensibly prejudice both the yield and the

quality of the crop, and consequently the interest of the planter.

Immediately after supplying the fields, the tobacco plants should be

carefully inspected, almost daily, in order to exterminate the

caterpillars of every kind that may be found, and this operation should

_always_ be made during the morning, because in the heat of the day the

worms are accustomed to hide themselves from the sun, and the wind

agitates the leaves too strongly to permit them to be handled without

risk of being broken or torn, especially when they are somewhat large.”

_After-cultivation._—After the plants have once taken root, they grow

rapidly. They are hoed when about 6–9 in. high, and the soil is drawn

from the furrows to raise the hills, maintaining a depression round the

stems. If the soil is not very rich, a special manure should be applied

at this stage of growth. The best manure generally will be nitre in a

liquid state, which can be applied in the depression around the plants

with a watering-pot. By applying it in solution and close to the plant,

less is required than when spread over the whole field. Some weeks

afterwards, another hoeing and heaping of earth round the plants will be

necessary. It is most difficult to say the number of hoeings which may

be required by a tobacco crop. The general rule to be followed is to

keep the soil loose, friable, and free from weeds. The more organic

matter the soil contains, the more will it remain loose and friable; the

less organic matter, the more waterings will be required, which causes

the soil to crust over, and to assume a close texture, and necessitates

frequent hoeings. As long as the plants have not spread much, the hoeing

may be done by a cultivator, followed by some men to perform the

heaping. Insects which attack the tobacco must be carefully sought for

and killed at once. They can easily be discovered in the mornings; if

not killed, they may destroy the whole crop in a few days. Turkeys are

invaluable for their grub-eating propensities.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.

THE TOBACCO WORM.]

Worms, in the American phraseology, here generally known as

caterpillars, are the _bête noire_ of the tobacco grower. The most

common is highly destructive also to the potato and tomato foliage. The

worm as it comes from the egg is so small as to be unobserved, but

having an enormous appetite, it devours rapidly, and soon grows to a

great size. When not feeding, it lifts up the head and fore-part of the

body, and remains apparently lifeless. From its resemblance in this

position to the Egyptian Sphinx, Linnæus gave the name _Sphinx_ to the

genus. The larva is of a light green colour, with whitish oblique

stripes, and has a horn upon the rear end of the body. Though it is

repulsive in appearance, it is perfectly harmless to touch, and may be

picked off with the hands without fear. After it has reached its full

size, it leaves the scene of its ravages and goes into the earth, where

it throws off its skin and becomes a brown-coloured chrysalis. The

curious projection, like a handle, at the end of the chrysalis, is a

sheath which holds the tongue of the future moth. The moth or perfect

insect is fully 2 in. long in the body and the spread of its wings

reaches 5 in. It is of a grey colour, with orange-coloured spots on each

side of the body. As there are five of these spots on each side, it is

called _Sphinx quinque-maculatus_, or Five-spotted Sphinx. The moths may

be seen towards night flitting about the flowers, from which they suck

the juices by means of their remarkable tongue, which is 5–6 inches

long. When the tongue is not in use, it is closely coiled up and hidden

between the two feelers. From the manner of their flight and feeding,

they are frequently mistaken for humming-birds, and are called

“humming-bird moths,” and “horn-blowers.” The moths should always be

destroyed if possible; by so doing we prevent the production of several

hundreds of most destructive worms. Naturalists make one or two other

species, which closely resemble the Five-spotted Moth, and are only

distinguished by characters which would not be noticed except by the

entomologist.

Judson Popenoe gives the following advice with regard to these pests.

“As soon as worms appear, which is generally when the leaves are as big

as a man’s hand, go over the tobacco, looking carefully at every plant.

The worms usually stay on the under side of the leaf; if you see a hole

in the leaf, no matter how small, raise it up and you will generally

find a worm under it. Worming can not be done too carefully. Miss one or

two worms on a plant, and before you are aware of it the plant is nearly

eaten up. When you find a worm, take hold of it with the thumb and

forefinger, giving your thumb that peculiar twist which none but those

who are practised in it know how to do, and put the proper amount of

pressure on, and my word for it you will render his wormship harmless.

Worming has to be continued until the tobacco is cut; the last worming

to immediately precede cutting and housing.”

Schneider remarks that “from the first starting of the tobacco plant, it

has its enemies. First appears a cutworm that works in the soil and eats

the roots off. Then comes a little caterpillar which enjoys itself on

the young leaves, and lastly the beautiful and large tobacco-worm, which

eats into the leaf, and in a short time leaves nothing but the

leaf-stems and stalk. The only remedies against these enemies are the

vigilance and industry of the planter—looking after them, digging up,

picking, and destroying once or twice a day, or as often as there are

any traces of them. Children, to whom premiums are offered, will be very

successful in destroying them. A herd of turkeys, if given access to the

tobacco-field, are a very valuable help. A negro from South Carolina

told me a few days ago, that a solution of blue vitriol in water,

sprinkled over the plants, will kill the worms. The remedy may be worth

trying. Of course the solution must be made weak enough, so that it will

not destroy the plants as well as the worms.”

On the same subject, White recommends the planter on the “next, or at

farthest, the second morning after having set your plants, go over to

see that the worms do not eat up one-half of them. You can tell where

they are and have been, by seeing a plant with a single leaf, and

sometimes the whole plant eaten off and drawn down into the hole

occupied by a large brown or black worm; you will see little ant-hills

like, and round holes in the ground; by poking around a little in the

dirt, you will find a worm very near the mouth of these little holes.

Destroy it, and all you can find, and thus save your crop. This

searching for worms must be kept up till they cease to do mischief. All

plants missing in the field should be renewed from the bed at the first

opportunity. The morning is the best time to find the worms, as they are

near the surface of the ground; later, they retire into the ground to

appear again near sundown, and work during the night and early morning.”

Thomas describes tobacco worms as “hatched from eggs deposited by what

is called the ‘tobacco fly.’ It is a large, dusky-brown, winged miller,

nearly as large as a humming-bird. It lays its eggs on fair evenings and

moonlight nights in July and August. It can be seen almost any clear

evening, among what are called ‘Jimson-weeds,’ sucking the flowers. The

eggs will hatch out in 24 hours, and the worms commence eating when less

than ½ inch long, and continue to eat till they attain the length of 4–5

inches. One worm, in 6 weeks, will destroy a plant so completely as to

render it utterly valueless. This pest is vastly more numerous in some

seasons than in others. Four years ago there were scarcely any; but for

the last three years they have been destructively numerous. The worming

of the crop, when they are numerous, is, by far, the most disagreeable

and tedious labour attending it. Much of the value of the crop depends

upon the care or inattention of performing this part of the work. The

crop may have been planted in good time—ploughed, hoed, primed,

suckered, topped, cut, and cured well; yet it may have been so riddled

by worms as to be comparatively good for nothing in market; hence, they

must be picked off and destroyed, and that promptly.”

_Topping and Suckering._—The plants will commence to flower about two

months after planting, when 2–7 feet high. When the flower-buds appear,

they must be broken off, and with them the top and bottom leaves. By

breaking off the flower-buds at an early date, the sap that would be

used in the formation of these organs flows to the leaves, which thereby

increase in size, and the outturn becomes much heavier than when the

plant is allowed to flower. But it is generally admitted that the leaves

lose much in aroma. To what extent the early removal of the flower-buds

impairs the quality has not been properly investigated. It is very

probable that the greater yield does not always compensate for the loss

in quality. The bottom leaves are generally of inferior quality, small,

torn, and dirty. The number of leaves to be left on the plant varies

greatly, according to species, quality of soil, and method of

cultivation. The minimum may be placed at 6, the maximum at 22. The only

rule to be observed is to retain as many leaves as the plants are able

to mature. Soon after the plants have been topped, suckers appear in the

axils of the leaves; these should be broken off as soon as they come, at

least they should not be allowed to grow longer than 4 inches. If the

suckers are not removed soon after their appearance, the size of the

leaves will be seriously impaired. After the plants are half-grown,

great care must be taken when going through the lines, whether for the

purposes of hoeing, watering, or suckering, &c., not to tear the leaves.

In India, hoeing and suckering should be performed only when the leaves

have lost part of their turgescence, attained at night. Insects,

however, must be killed during the morning and evening; at other times,

they are not easily found. Leaves which are torn are not fit for

cigar-wrappers, and must often be thrown on the refuse heap as

valueless, even if well developed and of good colour.

The plants commence to ripen about three months after being planted;

this is indicated by the leaves assuming a marbled appearance, and a

yellowish-green colour. The leaves also generally become gummy, and the

tips bend downwards. It is considered that tobacco intended for snuff

should have attained more maturity than tobacco for smoking. Nessler

found that the less ripe leaves contained more carbonate of potash, and

burnt consequently better, than the more ripe ones, but the total amount

of potash was larger in the latter than in the former; cigars made from

less ripe leaves kept the fire when lighted for a shorter time than

those made from more ripe leaves.

In the words of Judson Popenoe, the “tobacco is ready to top when the

button (as the blossom or top of the stalk is called) has put out

sufficiently to be taken hold of, without injury to the top leaves. As

tobacco is not regular in coming into blossom, it is the usual practice

to let those stalks that blossom first, run a little beyond their time

of topping, and then top all that is in button as you go. There is no

particular height to top at, but as a general thing 16 to 18 leaves are

left; judgment is necessary to determine where to top; if topped too

high, 2 or 3 of the top leaves are so small as not to amount to much; if

topped low, the tobacco spreads better; if just coming out in top, reach

down among the top leaves, and with thumb and forefinger pinch the top

or button off below 2 or 3 leaves; if well out in top, break off several

inches down from the button and 4 or 5 leaves below it. As soon as the

tobacco is topped, the suckers begin to grow; one shoots out from the

stalk at the root of each leaf, on the upper side. When the top suckers

are 3–4 inches long, the suckering should be done; with the right hand

take hold of the top sucker, with the left take hold of the next, close

to the stalk, and break them off, and so proceed, using both hands,

stooping over the stalk, taking care not to injure the leaf. Break the

suckers about half-way down the stalk, the balance being too short to

need removing until the second suckering. In about 2 weeks from topping,

the tobacco is ready to cut; now give it the last worming and suckering,

breaking all suckers off down to the ground, and remove every worm, if

you don’t want your tobacco eaten in the sheds.”

Another process, called “priming” by Schneider, is thus described by

him. “The object of priming is to break off the leaves that come out too

near the ground, which, when large, lie flat on it, and therefore rot or

get dirty. This work should be done early, the sooner the better, so

that the plant does not lose much strength by their growing. These

leaves must not be torn off, especially not downward, because the plant

would be injured, and instead of throwing the strength gained into the

other leaves, it would be thrown away to heal the wound. The distance

from the ground at which this priming should be done, depends upon the

variety grown and upon the time at which the work is done: 4–6 inches is

the right distance. This priming is not done by every one. One farmer

may practise it, while his neighbour does not; but sorts the lower

leaves separately, and sells them as so-called ‘lugs,’ for which he gets

a little over half the price of the good upper leaves. Those who do not

prime, must generally top lower, or they must risk that the whole plant,

or at least the upper leaves, will not mature fully.

“Topping is done to throw the strength, which would go to develop seeds,

into the leaves. It must, therefore, be done as early as the seed-buds

show themselves, if not earlier. This work must be done, and the

question is, how to do it. If there are but few leaves on the plant,

even these will not ripen, if it is not topped; if there are many, then

the grower has the choice either to break off the flower-stalk only or

to take off one or more leaves also. This should be done in answer to

the questions: 1st. Is there time enough to ripen even the upper leaves

fully? and, 2nd, Are the plant and the soil strong enough to ripen all

leaves, even the upper ones? The answers to these queries will decide

the way of topping. If yes, he takes off the flower-stalk only; if no,

he tops to 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 leaves, according to his judgment, that

is, he allows so many leaves to remain as will have a good fair chance

of reaching maturity.”

As Bishop remarks, cultivators are not agreed on the time and place for

topping tobacco plants. “Some favour the plan of topping as soon as the

blossom-buds appear, others prefer to wait until in blossom. I think

there is no harm in letting the earliest plants bloom before being

topped, but after once beginning, they should be broken off as soon as

the buds begin to look yellow, and the latest plants as soon as the buds

appear. A new beginner will be apt to top the plants too high. The

object is to ripen and develop as many leaves as the plant can support;

if topped too high, the top leaves are small, and when cured are nearly

worthless, and the other leaves are not as large or heavy, whereas, if

topped too low, then you lose one, two, or three leaves, which the plant

might have supported. As a general rule, a plant just in blossom should

be topped down to where the leaves are full 7 inches wide, leaving on

the stalk from 15 to 18 leaves. This will leave the stalks about 2½ feet

high in good tobacco. Later in the season, top the plants sooner and

lower. Let as many of the earliest plants as will be wanted remain for

seed. One plant will furnish seed enough to put out 5 acres, at least.

These should be wormed and suckered like the rest, only leaving the

suckers above where you would ordinarily break it off, were you to top

it. The piece should now be looked over every other day, to break off

the suckers and catch the worms. This should be done as soon as the dew

is off in the morning, and towards night, as the worms are eating then,

and can be found more readily, while in the heat of the day they remain

hid. Great care should be taken not to break off the leaves while going

through it, as they are nearly all wasted before the crop is ripe. As

soon as the top is broken off, the sap is thrown into the leaves,

causing them to expand rapidly. In the meantime suckers will start out

just above where each leaf joins the stalk; these must be broken off, or

the growth of the leaf will be checked, as the sap will be thrown into

these young sprouts. Those nearest the top will start soonest, and will

require breaking off twice before the plant is ripe; those at the bottom

must all be broken off. This is the hardest and slowest work of all. Not

only will these suckers check the growth of the plants, but if allowed

to grow will soon break or pry off the leaves, or cause them to grow out

at right angles from the stalk, rendering them more liable to be broken

off. It is a good plan to have a piece of corn on the north side of a

piece of tobacco, or, at least, two or three rows, to shield the growing

plants from winds.”

Priming is defined by Thomas as “pulling off the bottom leaves to the

number of 4 or 5,” and he says that any plant large enough to be topped

ought to be primed first. All conditions being favourable, he considers

that in Ohio, a “tobacco plant will ripen in as many weeks, from the

time of topping it, as there are leaves left on the stalk. Consequently,

if the topping is done early, it can be topped high, if later, it must

be done lower, and if still later, still lower. Planters differ very

much at this point. Some will top as high as 16 leaves, others 10, and a

great many at 8. My own opinion is, that a plant topped at 10 will weigh

as much as one at 16, topped at the same time, and on the same kind of

land. About a week after a plant has been topped the suckers will begin

to grow. A sucker is only an auxiliary branch which shoots out at the

junction of the leaves to the stalk. If not removed, they will grow, and

bloom, and ripen seed, and in doing so they will ‘suck’ the parent-stem

of much of its vitality. When the crop of suckers are about 1 inch long

they can be pulled or rubbed off, and it should surely be done. In about

a week or 10 days a second crop of them will appear. These must also be

promptly removed, and then the third crop will show itself, which must

be similarly treated. The longer they are permitted to remain on the

plant, the more they retard its development, and delay its maturity.”