Vol. I. No. 4. 



THE AORICULTUKAL NEWS. 



53 



TOBACCO CULTIVATION. 



JAMAICA. 



The following extracts affording useful hints 

 respecting sowing the seed and ])lanting out seedlings 

 of tobacco are taken from a recent paper by 51 r. T. J. 

 Harris, Superintendent of the Experiment Station at 

 HoiH' (iardens. The paper, in full, appears in the 

 BaUctiii iif flic Btitii nicol I)ei>ii rtincnt, Ju initica, [or 

 April, l!t()L>. pii. 49-52:— 



Sowing Seed. 



Tiiiii' ot' soifiiir/. -The best time to .'<ow i:s alxiut the 

 luiildle of August ; the .seedling.s would then he ready far 

 planting out iluriiig October. After this main sowing it is, 

 however, very noees.sary to sow a few lieds every fortnight 

 for the iiurpo.sc of keeping uji a suj^dy of jdants in the event 

 of unfavourable circum.stances oceuriing later on. 



Sowing.— Mix the seeds with twice their bulk of fine 

 sand or wootl ashes and scatter evenly over the bed (includ- 

 ing the long sloping sides) when the air is still. Water with 

 a tine ro.se watering can, and keeji the bed moist until the 

 seedlings are ready for hardening otf. 



Jlarilcniiiij o_^'. --Four weeks after germination the seed- 

 lings will begin to pack together, covering the .soil. They 

 .should now be gradually hardened off by keeping them 

 moderately dry, watering them only whi.'u there is danger of 

 the leaves drooping. In .seven weeks from siuviug tiicy 

 should l)e ready for iilanting out. 



Planting. 



Time for pliintinfj. — There is a certain .sliort period 

 towards the end of the year in which tobacco plant.s, whether 

 in the beds or in the field, grow and develop at an 

 exceedingly rajiid rate. This is usually from the last week in 

 October to the middle of Decendier. The success of a cro[i 

 depends very largely on whether the main lot of plants are 

 .set out before this period or iu)t ; if not, then the iilants will 

 not be fully develol)ed by the time the dry ripening weather 

 comes on. An imiiortant point is to make the liest jiossible 

 u.se of the latter half of the October 'sea.sons' with a view to 

 growing large plants and leaves that will be ready for the 

 dry weather when it arrives. 



PIdnting. — The seedlings are ready for [ilantiag out 

 when they have three or four leaves about four inches long 

 and a hard stem from two to three inches long. Care 

 should i)e taken wdien lifting them from the beds not to 

 break off the taj) root as such .seedlings often result in curly- 

 leaved jilants. The best time of the day for |)lanting is 

 usually from three o'clock in the afternoon until dark. 



Two days before planting is to be conunenced the 

 nursery l)eds should receive a thorough soaking with water ; 

 the plants can then be got out without damaging the roots. 

 Planting boxes, each ca}iabie of holding about 1,OOU iilants, 

 .should be prepared beforehand. The.se may be made out 

 of any liglit wood, the most convenient .shape being that of a 

 scpiare coal-scuttle or sugar scoop ; 1-5 inches liy 2 feet :> 

 inches on the longest side. The seedlings are stacked in 

 these boxes just as they come from the bed and are not dis- 

 turbed until they are planted in the field. Each planter 

 should have a box, and there should be several spare ones so 

 that the jilanters may be kept supplied with newly-tilled 



boxes from the nursery as the others get enii)ty. The idea 

 IS to prevent the roots being expo.sed or dried or damaged in 

 any way. 



In the actual planting great care should be exercised in 

 organizing the work in such a waj- as to prevent a hitch 

 occurring causing loss of time. After repeated trials of 

 various methods I have found the following to be the best 

 and quickest : — procure eight stout jiegs and t«o rough 

 mallets ; put four pegs into the ground on each side of the 

 field at a distance of three feet apart and stretch lines 

 between the first two pairs ; start one man with a six-[)ointed 

 dibbler from each end to make the holes, with one man 

 following to fill the holes with water as they are made. 

 Water should be ap|)lied yhcthcr the »oll be moht or drij. 

 Three planters may follow each waterer. 



Care .should be taken to see that the roots are [ilaeed 

 well into the nuid formed by adding the water. To secure 

 this thrust two fingers into the centre of the small puddle 

 and draw half on one side ; insert the root.s, then }ire,ss the 

 moved half back again to the |ilant and smooth clown the 

 surrounding soil. Xo watering should be required after this. 



Experiments with Tobacco at St. Kitts. 



The Hon'ble Francis Watts contributes the fol- 

 lowing notes on preliminarv effort.s tii grow tobacco at 

 St. Kitts:— 



A good deal of interest was being taken in the subject of 

 tol>acco. As you have been already informed, I have for 

 nearly three years had in view the advantages afforded by 

 tlie St. Kitts" soils for [iroducing high-class cigar tobacco, and 

 have endeavoured to arrange for systeuritic experiments. At 

 jiresent there are several snrdi lots of tobacco being cured, 

 notably those at the r.otanic Station and that belonging to 

 Mr. Adamson at I'.righton. I was able to give a certain 

 amount of attention to these during my stay, and to assi.st 

 Mr. Lunt, who is taking a keen interest in this work 

 and its development. I do not anticiitate that the experi- 

 menters will produce a high grade of tobacco in their early 

 experiments : they are however gaining a great deal of 

 experience which will enable them to proceed with nuieh 

 greater confidence and with nuich greater chance of success 

 in future trials. These exiierimeuts should be carried on, 

 at the Botanic Station at least, on a larger scale next season, 

 and a suitable curing house should be erected. 



COCOA-NUT BUTTER. 



The -Am' /■//•(/ (d' the Koyal Horticultural Society 

 for April contains this note on an article, by Mr. J. R. 

 Jackson, which app-ared \\\ i\v' Giiril"ii"rs Chrnnicle 

 for December 1!)01 : — 



This substance has lately attracted a good deal of 

 attention : its manufacture in this country [England] and on 

 the Continent is now very considerable. It is manufactured 

 from the kernels of cocoa-nuts, and is used as a substitute for 

 butter or lard in cooking. It is sold in Germany at about 

 8'/. per B*. It is claimed that it contains more than 90 per 

 cent, of vegetable fat, and that it is more wholesome a?uf 

 easier digested than the ordinarj- fat used for baking and 

 cooking. It is .said to be nuich in demand amongst vegeta- 

 rians, Jews, and Mahommedans. In English trade it is 

 known as ^XitcoUne.' — 



We might add that cocoa-nut .suet also figures in 

 the English market under the name of ' Vejsv..' 



