80 MISCELLANEOUS PAPEKS. 



this should be continued during the growing season, so as not to allow 

 the soil to become crusty and hard. The plants should not be per- 

 mitted to bloom, but should be topped as soon as the button appears, 

 leaving from 11 to 16 leaves to the stalk. 



The tobacco should be allowed to become thoroughly ripe before 

 harvesting. It is harvested in much the same way as the Yellow 

 Pryor and other Tennessee types, but no fire is used in its curing, 

 which is accomplished by simply hanging in the barn. 



Virginia Types (White Stem or One Sucker, Oronoco, Sun- 

 Cured, Blue Pryor). 



The situation and kind of soil best suited for the seed bed and the 

 methods of its preparation and management are the same for all these 

 types as for the Cuban tobacco, but there are some differences in the 

 time of sowing the seed and in the manner of cultivating, harvesting, 

 and curing the different varieties. 



White stem or one-sucker tobacco.— Seed should be planted from 

 January to March. Plants should be set in the field in rows 1 feet 

 apart and given a distance of 3 feet in the drill. The plants should be 

 topped, so as to allow from 8 to 12 leaves to the stalk. The average 

 yield is 1,500 pounds per acre. 



About fourteen weeks elapse between the time of transplanting and 

 of harvesting, as this tobacco should he thoroughly ripe when cut. 

 The crop is cut and harvested in the following manner: The stalk is 

 split from the top to the last set of leaves and severed about 2 inches 

 below the split, or just below the last set of leaves. Hang the stalks 

 on laths by opening the split, seven or eight plants being sufficient for 

 one lath. 



The curing is done as follows: Put the tobacco in the barn as quickly 

 as possible— before it begins to turn yellow. After the barn is filled 

 build a fire of dry oak or other hard wood and make it hot enough to 

 scald the leaves. About five hours of firing at a temperature of from 

 150° to 155° will usually scald the leaves. Then diminish the heat and 

 keep a slow fire in the barn until the stalks are cured. Forty-eight 

 hours are required to perfect this cure. 



The soil adapted to this type of tobacco is a sandy loam with a red 

 clay subsoil. Without such subsoil the tobacco will have a dull, slaty 

 color, while with it the tobacco will be rich, glossy, and much tougher. 



Oronoco tdbt zero. —The time for sowing the seed is from February 1 

 to April 15. Plants should be ready for transplanting sixty days after 

 sowing if the season is favorable. 



In the field the distance between the rows should be 3i feet and 

 between the plants in the drill 3 feet. The plants should be topped so 

 as to leave from 8 to 10 leaves on the stalk. Fifteen hundred pounds 

 per acre is considered a good crop. 



