672 Journal of Agriculture , Victoria. [10 Oct., 1911. 



V'ields vary from 1,000 lbs. to 1,400 lb.s. per acre of cured leaf, and 

 values from 2.s. to i6s. per lb., averaging a return per acre of from ^'75 

 to ^200, according to the proportion of high grade leaf in the crop. 



Experiments in Victoria have proved that leaf of better texture can be 

 grown by this method, but so far the cost of covering the field would not 

 be compensated for at the prices offered Ijy manufacturers for the local 

 product. Later on, when Victorian leaf gets a reputation for being high 

 class, growing tobacco under these conditions may become more general, 

 especially as it makes the industry possible in places where growing in the 

 open field is not advisable. 



The structure for the cover is made 9 ft. high and covered on the top 

 and sides with cheese cloth. The frame can be built of poles of any 

 diameter from 4 to 8 in., and placed 12 in. apart, with battens or galvan- 

 ized wire stretched across the top to support the cloth and to prevent 

 sagging. The widths of cheese cloth should be sewn together and sewn to 

 the battens or wires. The whole cost will be from ^60 to ;^8o per acre; 

 though, where timber is plentiful and the owner's labour available, the cost 

 will be lower. A cheap quality hessian will answer, but it is not as good 

 as cheese cloth; it will' have the effect of darkening the interior of the 

 building which is detrimental to rapid growth. The life of the framework 

 is from two to six vears, according to the size and kind of posts used, and 

 of the cheese cloth or hessian, two years. 



The report of a leading cigar manufacturing firm on Victorian tent- 

 grown leaf is decidedly encouraging. It reads as follows : — 



They are the best samples of Australian cigar leaf we have ever had submitted 

 to us. We would be prepared to purchase immediately a large (quantity of such 

 leaf at a price which we believe would be profitable to the producer, allowing for 

 the extra cost of growing under cover. 



The harvesting of tent-grown leaf differs from that grown in the open, 

 in that the evidences of maturity are not so plain, and if the crop is 

 allowed to over-ripen the quality will suffer. A record of the dates of 

 topping the plants should be kept, and the crop cut within eight weeks 

 of the time the bud is removed ; every additional day over that period the 

 leaf will deteriorate in smoking and burning qualities. 



Irrigation of Tobacco. 



In view of our present closer settlement policy regarding small irrigated 

 areas, a few hints on tobacco as a crop under irrigation methods should be 

 of value. Seeing that the crop gives such large returns per acre and the 

 area required to irrigate consequently small, no crop should be more suited 

 to small holdings, if soils and climate are right. The greater part of the 

 tobacco produced in the United States of America is grown in fields of 

 from 3 to 5 acres each. 



Irrigation for tobacco- is practised elsewhere on a large scale, both on 

 small and large areas, but there are a few points that must be observed, 

 otherwise the results will be fatal. In the first place, the soil must be free 

 and well drained to allow of the water getting away from the surface quickly 

 and easily. If the water should lie on the ground for more than 12 hours, 

 the crop is liable to be killed outright at whatever stage of growth it may 

 have attained. Flooding is not a good practice; irrigation by means of 

 furrows between the rows at equal distances from the plants is a safer 

 system. A good watering, with subsequent surface working of the soil 

 before transplanting, is often of great advantage in giving the crop a start. 

 Another watering just before the topping stage, if required, is also advis- 

 able. The water should never be put on later than this, as it prolongs the 



