REPORT OF STAT1-: HORTICULTURIST. 75 



In selecting a soil for tobacco growing, it is well to choose a 

 rather light soil which is retentive of moisture and well drained. 

 The plant succum'bs quickly to wet feet, so that the heavy, 

 poorly drained clay soils are not to be considered. If the 

 roots of the plant are under water for any length of time, dur- 

 ing the growing season, the results are disastrous. 



The initial preparation of the soil consists in applying lime to 

 the field at the rate of about two tons to the acre and discing 

 it thoroughly in the fall. In the spring the land is plowed and 

 again treated with a light coat of lime, after which it is thor- 

 oughly tilled as in the preparation for other crops. StaWe 

 manure is used wdienever it can be obtained and is supplemented 

 with wood ashes. Two grades of ground bone, cotton seed 

 meal and wood ashes furnish the fertilizer wdien stable manure 

 cannot be obtained. 



The above method is the system practiced by Mr. Smith in 

 first preparing his field and he finds, as they do in other state ., 

 that the crop can best be grown on the same field year after 

 year. The quality of the tobacco is materially increased by 

 constant cropping but food and humus must be supplied. This 

 is done by sowing winter rye in the field about the first to the 

 middle of September. This crop is allowed to grow until late 

 spring when it is plowed under, more lime applied and the 

 usual application of fertilizer worked into the ground. In 

 practically every case the fertilizer is applied broadcast instead 

 of in the row or hill, as is customary in many of our other farm 

 crops. 



Tlie varieties of seed which are used in this work, — the 

 Havana, Broad Leaf and the Cuban, differ somewhat in size 

 of plant and also in the shape of the leaf, but they each furnish 

 a high gradle of tobacco when properly cured. 



The seed is planted in early spring in common hot beds, cov- 

 ered with sash and furnished under-heat by decaying horse 

 manure. These hot beds are protected in the winter by filling 

 them with horse manure in the late fall. This does not freeze 

 deeply and when thrown out in the spring, the soil itself con- 

 tains little if any frost. The beds used on the Pearl Brook 

 farm are in sheltered spots and so located as to be handy to 

 the field at planting time. 



