16 



All seedboxes and beds should t)e sterilized to kill insects and their 

 eggs. An easy way to do this is to use from 10 to 2U gallons of boil- 

 ing water, applied as evenly and quickly as possible and cover with 

 some kind of a blanket to retain the heat. A pair of saddle blankets 

 answers the purpose nicely. 



After the seed beds become cold they are ready for the seed, and if 

 the top has become packed it should be loosened and made fine. 



Tobacco seed should be sown thinly, so the plants have room to 

 grow. Each plant should have at least 1 square inch of surface to 

 make a sturdy plant. Seed l)eds should, at all times, be fairly moist, 

 and never be allowed to become dry or to show dryness on the sur- 

 face. The seed is small and is only planted on the surface. Good 

 seed should germinate in from twelve to fifteen days. In from six 

 to eight weeks the more hardy plants will be ready for the field, and 

 the others will follow in quick succession until the bed is exhausted 

 of all desirable plants. 



Young plants should be allowed considerable sunshine to harden 

 them before transplanting. 



PLOWING AND TRANSPLANTING. 



The land selected for a tobacco field should be such as can be plowed 

 both ways. It should be sheltered from the high trade winds that 

 sometimes blow with great force. Small square plats of from 2 to 5 

 acres each would form good fields for a small planter, especially if 

 surrounded by the forest. It is well to plow the land some little time 

 in advance of the planting. 



Tobacco being a tap-rooted plant, in some instances sending its roots 

 down to a depth of 2 feet or more, requires that tillage shall be deep 

 in preparing the land to receive the young plants. The soil should be 

 plowed to a depth of at least 12 inches, and the work should be done in 

 such a manner that the subsoil is not brought to the surface. Have 

 the soil fine and loose but leave the sterile, acid subsoil underneath 

 where nature placed it. Put the soil in good, mellow condition, as it 

 pays to do so for any crop. 



As soon as the land is plowed and harrowed, the field should be 

 poisoned to kill pokos or cutworms (Plate I, fig. 4), army worms, 

 Japanese beetles, and the various pests usually abundant in newly 

 turned land. There are two r(Muedies which are of about equal value. 

 Sow one or the other of the following broadcast over the newly plowed 

 land: 



ArHenicated hm^se manure. — To 40 pounds of dried, fresh horse 

 manure, as free from straw as possible, add (i to 8 ounces Pans green 

 mixed with .5 pounds of common salt. Stir until the salt and Pans 

 green are thoroughly incorporated in every part of the manure. This 

 amount is sufficient for 1 acre. 



